The Mission From Hell
by JackieLupin
Summary: Team 7 embark on what they would fondly remember as "the mission from hell." Complete.
1. Prologue

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin (you can contact me at )

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes. And maybe some sex later on.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY**: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke **never** left Konoha and **never** attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did **NOT** attack the Hokage Sarutobi, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru **did** manage to kill the Sandaime, so **Tsunade is now Godaime**. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, TenTen and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story.

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!

-

Prologue

The fact that the day had started out so beautifully should have been warning enough for Sakura that her first day off in weeks would be anything but a day off. She didn't realize this until a messenger bird flew into the training area with an urgent message from the Hokage for her team describing an uprising in Wind Country. Years later, this mission was affectionately known as "The Mission from Hell."

Even though today was her day off from the hospital, Team 7 still met to train in the mornings. The years had flown by in a flash; already the dynamics of Sakura's team had changed. Now that they were almost adults, she was aware of the maturity of her friends and comrades. Naruto, though still a playful boy at times, had begun to calm down and think about his words and actions before acting impulsively. His bright blue eyes and carefree grin, however, had not changed, though the relationship between her and Naruto had, and for the better too. Sakura smiled; Naruto was her brother and her best friend. She regretted her treatment of him in their early years, but when she had apologized to him years ago, he acted as though he had never noticed and left a very relieved Sakura trailing behind him as he headed to Ichiraku.

Team 7's notorious sensei had even opened up to them. Kakashi was not their aloof, detached sensei anymore; now he played the part of a very protective older brother, or father figure for Naruto and Sasuke, who both had never really gotten to know their own. Sakura had learned much about him; he was a pervert, yes, but he had a very funny sense of humor, and had the ability to cheer them up during the worst of times. She understood why at first Kakashi kept them at arms length, for he had lost all of his teammates at a young age. Now he welcomed them, but it was due to the effort she and Naruto made to convince the stubborn man that they weren't going anywhere.Sasuke, however, hadn't changed a bit. Though Sakura knew that in his own way Sasuke cared for his team, it sometimes was lost amidst his harsh, calculating comments or criticism. He never participated in the playful banter between Kakashi and Naruto, choosing only to spar with them during training. After training was over, he disappeared; not even Kakashi knew where he went, but he always returned in a foul mood. Sakura knew deep down that Sasuke would never rest until Itachi lay six feet under.

Now that they were all seventeen, Sakura realized that changes in herself had to be made, because everything else had changed. After three years, her blatant, pathetically obvious attempts to win Sasuke's affection had faded to the point where she refused to ask if he wanted to spend time together. It was only after she took a step back to reevaluate her life that Sakura realized that she was in love with a dream, nothing more. Sasuke sure as hell didn't secretly love her, that was for sure. He had made it clear enough before, and it was only now that she realized it.

"Mmm," she moaned happily as the warm morning sun hit her skin. She slammed her apartment door shut behind her and stepped out onto the porch, straightening her boots and gloves. Sakura brushed her hair from her face and tied her hitai-ate before stepping down onto the curb and jogging down to the bridge near the west edge of Konoha. The sun was shining brightly, there was a light breeze blowing in from the east, and the sometimes overwhelming smell of the noodle restaurants that lined the streets near the apartment building where both Sakura and Naruto stayed wasn't unbearable. At seventeen, Sakura had grown into her body; her hair was still short, barely brushing her shoulders, but she now had curves that even gave Hinata a run for her money, while still being rather slim and athletic in appearance.

And now that she wasn't that whimpering little girl anymore, Haruno Sakura was ready to take on the world.

-

By the time she reached the bridge, the sun was already starting to beat harshly on the town on Konoha. Sweat was just beginning to bead on her upper lip and lower back due to the heat. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen, but Naruto and Sasuke were already there and already bickering. Sakura smiled; even though their arguing was incessant, it was who they were, and both of them were family to her. She may punch them both to the ground when her patience ran out, but every night she thanked Kami for putting Team 7 together.

"Sakura!" Naruto called, waving to her. Sasuke turned to look at her; Sakura almost expected him to smile, but then reprimanded herself for the tiny glimmer of hope she felt when Sasuke's bland expression did not change. _He's not Naruto or Kiba,_ she thought to herself angrily, _Stop expecting him to fawn over you! _

"Ohayo," she called back, walking onto the bridge slowly. What was the rush anyway? Kakashi wouldn't even be here for another hour at best, but it was tradition for the three teenagers to be there on time. Who knows... if they were late, Kakashi might be early and catch them!

Or not.

"Man, it's hot!" the blond boy complained from her left after ten minutes of silence, slouching down against the railing of the bridge and wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Sensei better get here soon! I want to start!"

Sasuke's only response was to quirk an eyebrow at Naruto's juvenile behavior before turning his back on them to watch the river flow underneath the bridge.

Sakura merely sat down next to Naruto, tipped her head back against the railing, and closed her eyes. After a few moments of soaking in the sun and listening to the morning birds chatter away and the bangs of shops and stands just beginning to open, she cracked an eye open to glance around. Naruto was lightly dozing, a crumbled heap of orange and black that seemed so out of place with the gentle blues and grays of the water and the greens of the trees and yellow of the town that it would have hurt her eyes if she wasn't so used to the sight. Sasuke was no longer leaning against the railing, but was now lounging comfortably against it in a similar fashion to her position. His eyes were scanning the crowds of people that had begun to merge in the streets, though his expression was one of the utmost boredom.

She shook her head with a soft smile; Sasuke was aloof as ever, but it's not like she could do anything to break down that barrier. It hadn't worked in the past, why should she think it would work now? He resisted even Naruto's offer of friendship, and Naruto was persistent enough that it should have worked.

Sakura suddenly became aware that sweat was pouring off of her body; her shinobi uniform consisted of a black sleeveless top with red stripes running across the chest and back, with her trademark Haruno symbol stamped proudly across her belly. Underneath she wore the standard netting, through it was itchy and comfortable due to the heat. Her medic skirt and shorts remained the same, though she had traded her knee-high boots for more netting and bandages on her right ankle to help support an old injury. Even though what she was wearing normally would have been cool enough, Sakura felt like a radiator. With a sigh of frustration that gained the attention of her dark-haired teammate, she quickly slid her black shirt up and over her head, flinging it to the ground beside her.

The difference in temperature made her hum in relief. When she glanced over at Sasuke, who had suddenly gone very still, she was slightly surprised. His eyes were boring holes into hers, and even when she made eye contact with him, he didn't glance away indifferently like he normally would. Sakura gazed back, tilting her head to the side inquisitively. When a few moments had passed and he was still glaring at her, she grew annoyed. "Sasuke, what is it?" she bit out, her cheeks and the tips of her ears reddening from embarrassment and anger.

Finally, Sasuke looked away, and Sakura swore she saw a hint of red on his cheeks as he turned his head. "Put your shirt back on, Sakura," he said nonchalantly.

She gaped at him. "W-What?!"

"Put it back on." He looked back at her, quirking an eyebrow with a small smirk growing on his face.

"Why?" Sakura demanded, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance, though her embarrassment grew with every passing second.

"Well, if you want to look desperate, then go right ahead." The smirk grew larger on his face. She was so furious now that she was speechless. How could he? Sasuke looked so smug, sitting there smirking like it was one of the funniest things ever.

Sakura looked down slyly; her mesh shirt definitely showed some curves, but it wasn't like she was in danger of exposing herself. Besides, she had on a breast band and bindings that sufficiently covered her. She glanced up at Sasuke with a shrug. "I don't look desperate," she said uninterestedly, covering up her earlier outburst over his words. Brushing her bangs out of her face, she pretended to be indifferent, gazing instead up at the sky like Shikamaru usually did.

When Kakashi finally arrived, Sakura was so relieved that she had to restrain herself from giving a sigh of relief. _Thank Kami_, she thought happily upon seeing his silvery hair that defied all the rules of gravity, and even his usual, monotone greeting of "Yo" was nice to hear. Anything other than the drawl of Sasuke!

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried, stirring from his nap as he sensed the other man approaching, "You're late!"

The older shinobi grinned behind his mask. "I'm always late, Naruto. You should be used to it by now, eh?"

"What was it _this_ time?" the blond demanded, but he too was smiling.

"Well, there was a baby bird on the street, so I had to find its nest-"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Sakura rose to her feet, dragging Naruto up with her. "He's right, you know," she teased her friend, "He's not gonna change his ways now. He's worse than even Shikamaru that way!"

Sasuke only grunted as if it made no difference in the world to him; Sakura was always surprised at his lack of resistance in rejoining Team 7 if he pretended that they were beneath him. If he had wanted, he could've been at the other side of Fire Country getting taught one on one with a private instructor for a better training routine with a sensei who wasn't chronically late. However, when Tsunade placed that offer in front of him after she had taken Sakura under her wing and Naruto was accepted by Jiraiya-sama, Sasuke had blatantly refused the offer and instead chose to participate in the sparring sessions of not only Team 7, but the other chuunin teams as well. Once a week for the past two years, the entire population of shinobi-in training, which consisted of jounin levels and lower, participated in a tournament to hone their skills and teamwork.

However, her teammates always managed to take the tournament and blow it way out of proportion. Well, Sasuke and Naruto, and all of the other males in Konoha as well, but her two teammates had always been notoriously competitive to begin with. Sometimes Sakura got so exasperated by their behavior and sullenness if they lost a match that she would proceed to pound them into the ground as best she could to cheer them up.

Because of their immaturity in dealing with this particular situation, Sakura chose to spend much of her time with Kiba, Shikamaru and Neji; when the three jounin practiced together, Sakura joined them. Naruto and Sasuke were too busy battling each other to be good sparring partners, and Kakashi, although he was a formidable shinobi, took it way too easy on her, but Shikamaru, despite his laziness, was an excellent partner. Her kept her on her toes the entire time. Their sessions were very refreshing, for she was around very powerful shinobi, and watching them move and analyzing their techniques in turn aided her progress in growing faster, stronger, and more flexible. Sakura would always go to Naruto's apartment in the afternoon, sweaty, dirty and sore after the training sessions of both Team 7 and Shikamaru's, happy and smiling. For some strange reason, whenever she came home from training with those elite ninjas, Sasuke quickly sunk into a foul mood; she knew he became annoyed by the way the corners of his mouth would tighten, especially when she would mention Neji and Shikamaru.

Serves him right, Sakura thought to herself as Team 7 marched over to the training field, _I'm my own woman. Maybe he'll see that someday. I'm not someone who shows up at beck and call!_

-

The training ground was a sorry sight. Once a lush, green forest, it had drastically been changed by the diverse habits of Team 7 and the occasional spar with Sai and Yamato. Due to the sheer strength behind the attacks, the terrain was rough and rocky with huge craters in the middle, courtesy of Sakura, while Naruto and Sasuke had succeeded in burning most of the trees to the ground. Kakashi was to blame for the mud, for he preferred using his water ninjutsu to counter the fire ninjutsu, and Sai helped with the splotches of ink that decorated the landscape. And because of Yamato, there were various "bases" around the area to stock supplies and weapons when Kakashi initiated a training exercise with teams.

Today was one of those days. When Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura reached the middle of the training area, Sai and Yamato were already waiting for them.

"Ugly," Sai greeted her with an emotionless smile. Sakura just sighed and shook her head; she was positive he did it now only to annoy her. Of course, when Sai turned to say hello to Naruto and Sasuke, which most likely consisted of a spattering of insults, Sakura quickly shut him up with a well-aimed jab in the ribs.

"Sakura!" the Root ANBU protested, "I was only going to-"

"Sai!" Naruto growled, though he was smiling as he playfully hit the artist on the shoulder. Sasuke, however, stared at Sai with a slight scowl on his face. The two had never gotten along; after they had been introduced, Sai's "nicknames" had greatly offended the Uchiha. The battle between them was something Sakura would never forget, for Sai had actually managed to keep his own against Sasuke before the Uchiha had finally activated the Sharingan.

"Yamato-taichou!" Sakura smiled at her old captain, quickly changing the subject as to avoid yet another battle.

"Sakura," he responded with a small smile, before taking Kakashi to the side. While the two began to converse in hushed tones, Sakura turned back to watch the strained conversation between the three boys. With a sigh, she turned away; arguing about the effectiveness of an art jutsu compared to a Kage Bunshin no jutsu got old after awhile. Sometimes she wished there was another girl on her team, just so she wouldn't feel so alone. But then again, Hinata, Ino and Tenten were the only girls in their group, and they seemed to manage just fine.

"Okay, listen up!" Kakashi finally called, "You know what today is; the objective of our mission is to capture the scroll from the other team, while protecting our own scroll. There are boundaries, though. Naruto, are you listening?" When the Copy-nin was answered with a grumble and a scowl from the blond, he continued. "You cannot leave the training grounds, and you cannot switch teams and form other pacts, alright? Stick to your team! Yamato and I will also join in, but we're only going to be for supervision. The rest is up to you. If you use any jutsu that aim to kill, your team will lose."

When the four shinobi nodded, Yamato stepped forward. "Sakura, you and Sai will be paired together. Naruto and Sasuke, you will form the other team. You have half an hour to come up with a strategy, and then the match will start. This is meant to strengthen teamwork, since you all seem to prefer fighting a little too much with each other. Concentrate on working together. Understood?"

"Hai!"

-

Half a mile away, Sakura and Sai settled down near the river. She turned to the artist as he scanned the surrounding forest suspiciously. "Can you see them?" she whispered, sitting down underneath a nearby pine tree and slinging her pack to the ground beside her.

"No," he whispered back, "I can't feel their chakra; they must have headed the opposite way."

"Good!" Last time they had done this exercise, Naruto and Sasuke ended up tracking them from the first moment; while she and Sai had discussed their plan, the keen ears of Naruto had picked it up. Every move they threw at the other boys were blocked and eventually, Sai had been forced to give up the scroll.

"Okay, hag," Sai began, ducking underneath the low branches of the pine to crouch in front of her, "How are we going to get through their defenses?"

Sakura was silent for a moment. Swiftly, she moved the brush and twigs from the ground in front of her and brushed the dirt smooth. "Okay," she murmured, "We know where their scroll is, because Sasuke won't trust Naruto with it. So Sasuke has it." With a small branch, she drew a 'X' in the dirt.

"Or Sasuke could have given it to Naruto if he believes we think he has it," Sai countered, deep in thought.

"Maybe, to fool us... Anyway, the base is here..." She drew another "X" near "Sasuke."

Sai sighed and twisted around to reach into his pack. He withdrew a clean scroll and a paintbrush and quickly began painting. Noticing Sakura's curious glance, he told her, "I'm trying to think of all of my animals that have given Sasuke the most trouble."

"Speaking of Sasuke and Naruto," she said, "Do you have any idea where they would be right now?"

Sai's hand stilled. "No," he said slowly, "But...I can find them."

"Mice?"

"Hawks."

Sai hastily stopped his painting of his five lions and instead drew three small hawks. Soon they were gliding far up in the sky. "When one of them spots the others, they'll explode," he said, before resuming his painting.

"Okay... we know that one of the two have the scroll... do you agree that Sasuke is way too paranoid to leave it behind? Yeah, me too. He knows that your dogs would easily find it. Alright, what should we do with our scroll?"

Sai turned to look at her with an interesting gleam in his eyes, gazing at her like he had never seen her before. Slightly alarmed, Sakura was very aware of the fact that he was looking her up and down in deep concentration. "S-Sai?" she asked.

"You should take it," he replied, his eyes settling near her chest area. "The scroll."

Feeling extremely violated, Sakura growled, her arm already winding back to deliver a punch to the artist's face. Sai wisely jumped away. "I don't mean it in a bad way, Hag! But think! Where is the last place that Naruto and Sasuke will expect it to be?"

With a snarl, Sakura leapt after him. "You should take it! Shove it up your ass! They won't think of that!"

"Tut, tut!" a voice said from above them in amusement. Sakura almost craned her neck, she turned her head around so quickly to find the intruder. There was Kakashi-sensei, sitting up in their pine tree with his nose buried in his book. "I don't remember teaching you how to use that kind of language, Sakura." His eye was creased in a smile.

She glared at him. Her teacher honestly was very annoying at times, but in this case, her anger deflated; she had been acting immature enough to punch her own teammate in the middle of a training exercise, so maybe it was best that Kakashi had chosen to interrupt their arguing when he had before she made a complete fool of herself. With a sigh, she let her arm fall to her side. "Alright, Sai, I see your reasoning. But sensei, wouldn't that be considered cheating?"

Kakashi just grinned. "Naruto and Sasuke aren't about to make the scroll easy to get to; why shouldn't you?"

With yet another sigh, Sakura nodded. "Okay Sai, you win. Give me the scroll." She took the offered scroll and, hesitantly, tucked it into her chest bindings. It was lucky that the scroll was on the small side, or its hiding place would be obvious. She then twisted around to grab her bag. "Alright... all set. While we're waiting, let's set up some traps."

Sai only smiled. "Okay, hag."

-

The remaining ten minutes flew by in a flash. Sakura and Sai, having decided to remain in their clearing amidst the traps, snares and exploding tags they had set up, settled down in the underbrush to wait. Soon enough, the only sounds Sakura could hear were of the birds and Sai's soft, rhythmic breathing. Kakashi had disappeared with a vague excuse; they knew it was only to check the progress of Naruto and Sasuke. Being the lazy shinobi he was, Kakashi much preferred watching them fight against each other than participate.

"Sai?" Sakura murmured after a few moments. They were sitting so close that the sleeve of his shirt was ticking her upper arm.

"Yes?"

"Why do you call me 'hag'?"

He looked at her, a questioning expression plastered on his face. "I've always called you ugly."

She huffed. "But why? Am I really that ugly?"

Sai appeared even more confused now. He didn't answer for a long time, apparently deep in thought. Then suddenly, he snapped his head around to look at her again. "I read," he began, "In one of the books that taught about relationships, that sometimes people call other people the complete opposite of what they really are. I thought that by doing this, I could form a bond of friendship between you."

Sakura began to giggle in an attempt to cover up the blush covering her cheeks. "Aw, Sai," she teased, "You think I'm beautiful?"

But Sai didn't embarrass as easily as Naruto. He merely smiled, eyes closed. "I do."

At that exact moment, a loud explosion sounded from high overhead. Sakura jumped up in alarm, her right hand already gripping the handle of a kunai and snapping it out of her pouch. Sai grabbed her yanked her down quickly. "Stay still," he whispered in her ear, "They're close. Let's hope that they walk into more traps on the way over here."

Sakura snorted. "With Naruto leading the way, they sure will." Suddenly, the hair on the back of Sakura's neck began to stand up as chills ran up and down her spine. The flare of chakra less than five hundred feet from her was very strong, but it wasn't in attack... it was searching... for their chakra! "Chakra," she whispered to Sai hurriedly, "Sai, hide your chakra!" Quickly, Sakura concealed her chakra, but she knew the damage was done. The chakra that had been searching was without a doubt Sasuke's, which meant that he already knew of their presence.

"What do we do?" she hissed at Sai, but the artist didn't respond. Hastily, he scrawled out two small birds, then activated the jutsu. "Tosou wa no inku no Jutsu!" Sai bit out, holding the scroll up over his head; with a flash, the birds were up and racing through the trees. Sakura smirked when she realized what the purpose of the birds was; the ink was specially designed to detonate on the opponent and cover their body, therefore leaving the part it covered completely under Sai's control.

"Good thinking, Sai," she smiled, and then, reaching into her pouch, withdrew a handful on senbon. "I'll be the decoy! If you've got Sasuke under control, I'm gonna go after Naruto." As quickly and as quietly as she could, Sakura concentrated a small portion of chakra in her feet and leapt into the canopy, leaving Sai behind to control their clearing. She purposely allowed her chakra to flare for only a moment, knowing that Sasuke would feel it. As she concealed her chakra again and raced through the trees, Sakura tried to narrow in on Naruto's chakra trace. Although Naruto was easier to pinpoint than Sasuke, it would still be hard to find him, especially if he were stationary.

There! A flash of orange zipped through the trees above her, and Sakura, almost a moment too late, spun around to block the incoming barrage of shuriken. She rolled out of the way before jumping to her feet, chakra focusing in her hands like blades. Naruto, who had turned to throw the shuriken, was turning around to make a straight pass at her. Grimly, Sakura smiled; after the many years of team-oriented training, his techniques were predictable. The "Naruto" running towards her had to be a clone, because he would never rush at her headfirst like this... so where was the real one?

With a large, sickening crunch, Sakura sent her fist into the tree behind her. With a great groan, the large elm toppled over, narrowly missing Naruto, who had been hiding waiting for an opening as his clone attacked. The blond cursed underneath his breath as he jumped out of the way. "Sakura-chan!" he protested, though he was laughing, "If I didn't know better, I'd have thought that was meant to hit me!"

"Who said it wasn't?" Sakura teased, tearing off after him into the underbrush. She was a fast runner, but Naruto was faster; it wasn't long before she thought, _Screw it!_ and focused chakra at the bottom of her sandals in order to increase her speed. Sakura was confident that even if Sasuke was aware of her location, Sai would be enough of a force to halt the Uchiha's path to help Naruto. As a loud explosion echoed from about a mile away, she grinned; Sai must have been able to catch Sasuke!

With a last push of her powerful legs, Sakura finally managed to reach Naruto; spinning around quickly so she was sailing through the air feet first, she landed a kick at the back of his leg, forcing it to collapse under the pressure and sending Naruto flying. However, when she managed to slow down and make a pass around again, she saw Naruto explode in a cloud of smoke.

"Naruto!" she shrieked, "You and your damn clones!" With a cry of fury, she leapt into the nearest tree and quickly formed the seals for her genjutsu. Sakura was only halfway through the last seal when a barrage of shuriken came flying at her from above. Quickly, she dodged the projectiles and sprinted away in the opposite direction, hoping to by some time, but Naruto and his clone were on her tail, lopsided grins on both of their faces.

"I've got you now Sakura-chan!" Yet another clone materialized to her left, forcing her to spin out of the way and change her direction.

_Think, think!_ she thought furiously, _What do I do? He's faster than me, has more jutsu... how can I capture him?! _ Then it hit her; "Chakra cords," she whispered, dodging a stray kunai that Naruto threw at her.

"Not so fast, Naruto!" she panted, spinning out of his reach and doubling back around, charging the "real" Naruto, fist already infused with her deadly chakra. His eyes widened, and when her fist was scant centimeters from his chest, he leapt out of the way; she took that time to painstakingly create a small, invisible strand of chakra hidden in her left fist using the chakra trace from her fist to disguise the new chakra trace from the chakra cords. Naruto landed on a nearby branch, gasping for breath. With a surprised expression on his face, he looked down at his chest and felt the ripped fabric of his jacket; a thin scratch had marred his chest after cutting through his shirt.

"Nice job, Sakura-chan!" Naruto laughed, "That's the third jacket you've ruined this month!"

"Stuff it, baka! Tell me where the scroll is!" Slamming her foot into the ground to gain momentum, Sakura hastily flew past him, a black and pink blur, and latched onto his collar. Taking advantage of Naruto's complete surprise, she bound his hands together with the chakra cord. While Naruto was incapable of moment, Sakura quickly threw two senbon at the two of his clones; one was hit and disappeared with a "poof", and Sakura finished the other off with a well-placed punch to the face.

"Now, Naruto," she sneered, walking up to where the blond sat dejectedly and crouching down to eye-level. "Where is the scroll? If you don't let me have it, I'll tell Sasuke that it was _your_ idea to throw that party at his house! Remember that? He wouldn't speak to any of us for weeks!"

Naruto groaned. "That's low, Sakura!" he pouted, but he was grinning. "But I don't have it. Sasuke-teme does!"

Before Sakura knew it, a burning pain erupted in her abdomen, and she was suddenly flying through the air into the underbrush. When she managed to stop herself and land on her knees, Sasuke had already untied Naruto. She moaned in pain. "Dammit, Sai!" Sakura cursed, shakily scrambling to her feet and wiping away the line of blood that ran from her mouth. Fighting both Sasuke and Naruto at once was not on her list of priorities, not when it felt like she had a cracked ribcage.

"You didn't have to hit her that hard," she heard Naruto mutter to Sasuke, but the black-haired boy didn't answer; his eyes were fixed on hers, even though the Sharingan hadn't been activated yet. "It's not a real fight, teme."

With alarm, Sakura realized that Sasuke was advancing on her, quickly. A flash of silver appeared in his hand, and with growing dread, Sakura realized that he wasn't going to hold back on her, no matter the rules that Kakashi and Yamato had laid down. Snarling, Sakura rapidly retreated and ran as fast as she could despite the exhausting pain in her side. If she could just reach Sai, then their team might have a chance-

"Where are you going, Sakura?" Sasuke asked cooly from directly in front of her.

In her haste to stop to avoid colliding with him, Sakura fell to her knees. Through darkening eyes, she glanced up at him. His face was impassive as he stared down at her, but a small smile quirked his lips. "I apologize for kicking you so hard."

He thought that her pain was funny. "Don't bother," she said nonchalantly. _What do I do now? Dammit Sai, where are you?_ "Let me guess; you're looking for the scroll."

Sasuke merely shrugged. "I know you have it, since Sai didn't. Stop stalling and just hand it over, and I can start my real training exercises for the day."

_Sakura, think!_ she admonished herself, _How can I confuse Sasuke? What trick is there that he will fall for?_ Then she remembered; Sasuke relied on his Sharingan for most of his taijutsu; even though he could understand how to block an attack, his body wasn't always fast enough to follow his mind! If only her body was up to fighting... but there was an easy way to remedy that.

"Well, then, I guess we'd better get this over with," Sakura stalled, slowly moving her hand to her right side, calling a gentle dose of chakra to flow through her hands to mend the bone, knitting the muscle and bone cells back together until the injury disappeared.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but he still made no move to attack. His lack of action angered Sakura; he obviously believed he could beat her without effort. Well, he'd be in for a surprise, because she wasn't about to let him win. With a touch of sadness, she realized that his apathetic manner towards her would probably never change; she was nothing to him. Grimly, recalling her training with Shikamaru, Sakura lowered her body into a crouch. "Always wait for your opponent to make the first move," Shikamaru had told her as she watched him and Neji spar, "If he can turn your first attack against you so quickly, then the fight is over." Her eyes staring intently on his hands, Sakura waited for Sasuke to approach her.

Finally, it seemed as if Sasuke deemed that he had waited enough. With a growl, he swung his leg up and over, aiming for her head. He expected her to duck, so instead, Sakura lunged to the left and parried his kick, starting her own attack pattern at his back. Her fist managed to connect before another kick sent her scrambling for safety. Breaking apart, they gazed at each other warily. Still, Sakura refused to meet his eyes.

Just when Sasuke was going to attack again, a loud explosion hit the ground feet from him. The shock-waves caused Sasuke to stumble slightly, and Sakura took the opportunity to slam her fist into his chest. This time, she had infused it with her powerful chakra, and she was not disappointed; Sasuke flew back several feet and fell to the ground.

Sai appeared behind him, with a group of lions hunched and ready to attack beside him. The lions surrounded the furious Sasuke, and, upon closer inspection, the two small birds were slowly approaching the Uchiha from behind, out of his line of vision. "Ugly!" he called, "Restrain Naruto, Sasuke has the scroll!"

With a nod and a grin, Sakura moved away from Sasuke, ignoring his glare, and stood next to Naruto. She poked him in the head, but he wasn't going to fight her. Naruto stood relaxed beside her, worry written over every inch of his face. "Sasuke should not have done that," he whispered, incredibly blue cerulean eyes locked on hers. "He didn't need to put that much power into it."

Sakura smiled, but it was wavering and she knew Naruto could see through it anyways. "We're even," she murmured, "I _know_ I broke his arm with that last hit."

But just as the two small birds exploded ink over Sasuke's hands and Sai was reaching for the scroll, Kakashi and Yamato appeared in the clearing with a _poof._ "Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke," Kakashi called, a red scroll clutched tightly in his hands, "We have a mission."

-

**And that's the end of the prologue! Hope you guys enjoyed it! **

**Please review, I love getting them! But if you don't, that's okay too, I'm not forcing you, haha!**

**The next chapter should be out soon, it's already halfway done. The mission starts!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin (you can contact me at )

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes. And maybe some sex later on.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY**: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke **never** left Konoha and **never** attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did **NOT** attack the Hokage Sarutobi with Orochimaru, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru **did** manage to kill the Sandaime, so **Tsunade is now Godaime**. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, TenTen and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story.

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!

-

Chapter One

-

After Kakashi convinced Sakura to heal Sasuke's broken arm, after Naruto had been placated after Sai had gloated in his face, and after Yamato returned to the ANBU headquarters, Team 7 finally managed to reach the Hokage's tower. An anxious-looking Shizune ushered them inside hurriedly, and an angry Godaime Hokage awaited them, looking very tired.

"Sit," the Hokage snapped, rubbing her temples and cutting straight to the details. "This is an urgent mission, and I would not have asked a chuunin team to handle it, but I believe it will be a good experience for you. A lord by the name of Igarashi Benjiro wrote to us pleading for a team of shinobi to help him regain his city, Iwate."

"Why should we do anything?" Sasuke scoffed, "All of these lords are the same! They've never helped anyone-"

"Quiet!" Tsunade growled, "You're just a child." The look on the young Uchiha's face was of pure anger, but Tsunade wasn't moved an inch. "Are you ready to listen to the rest of the details now?"

Grudgingly, Sasuke nodded, though Naruto's snickers in the back didn't help the situation. Inwardly, Sakura sighed. _This is going to be great_, she thought wearily, _Especially if Sasuke doesn't give a damn and Naruto makes a mess of things that Kakashi and I will have to fix..._

"Now that you are all listening," the Godaime continued, "Lord Igarashi lives in Wind Country, near our eastern border. He claims that there was a coup, and his government was overthrown last month. All of the other reports I've received had nothing but good to say of Lord Igarashi, and I believe that. The new government, however, is a dictatorship. A man by the name of Maeno Montaro now controls Iwate, and according to the people, the new government has killed and tortured all of those who threatened or disagreed with them and their new...policies."

"Gomen, Tsunade-sensei," Sakura interrupted, "But if Lord Igarashi lives in Wind Country, why did he contact Konoha and not Suna?"

Tsunade smiled. "You were always very clever," she praised, causing her student to blush, "Igarashi contacted Suna first, but right now, Kazekage-sama has enough problems of his own and was forced to decline. Igarashi came to us; I couldn't refuse this one. The money is too good for Konoha to just leave. And besides, I'd rather the city be set right. It's a major trading capital and a major asset that I'd rather we or any of our allies controlled. If, say, Sound controlled the city, that would be a problem for us. It's a win-win situation; Lord Igarashi regains his city, and we gain an ally."

"Do we have any other leads on Maeno Montaro?" Kakashi asked gravely.

Tsunade shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kakashi, but his name was hard enough to uncover. Whoever he is, he's doing a great job at keeping himself private to the public. Even the people in the city don't really know who he is because his subordinates run the government. That will be part of your objective in this mission; discover all that you can about this man. I need to know if he has contacts within any of our enemy nations like our information has hinted at. It is imperative that you do not fail, Kakashi. The same goes for you three. This is your first S class mission, and I want you to treat it as such."

"Hai!" Team 7 chorused.

"Now go. The rest of the mission objectives are in the scroll."

-

Back at her apartment, Sakura quickly packed some food for the two day journey to Wind Country and wrapped it in cloth before stowing it in her pack. When that was done, she hurried into her bedroom, slammed on her boots and grabbed her bedroll, securing it to the top of her pack. "Okay," she murmured, "I've got my jacket, bandages, extra food in case Naruto forgets some of his, my kunai, my senbon..."

"You forgot these."

Sakura spun around and hurled herself at the intruder, but the man just stepped away with a laugh. "Naruto!" she growled upon recognizing his blond hair and blue eyes, "You know how to knock!"

He merely shrugged with a grin and handed her her chakra gloves. "That takes the fun out of scaring you," Naruto teased, "It's too much fun to stop, Sakura-chan!"

"Baka!" she said, but she was smiling. "Do you have everything you need?"

He saluted her. "Yes ma'am!" He was dressed in all black, Sakura was surprised to see, and his hitai-ate was wrapped securely around his forehead. Even his track jacket lacked any flamboyant orange that it usually sported, and seeing Sakura's inquisitive look, Naruto said, "I was thinking about what Tsunade-baa-chan was saying, and I felt that I needed to take this mission seriously. You know, our _first_ S-class! Besides, orange isn't really a good color when trying to stay hidden."

"I've been trying to tell you that for years," she teased him, ruffling his hair with one hand, "I'm just surprised. You without orange is a little odd for me to see."

-

Half an hour later, Naruto and Sakura reached the gates to find Sasuke and Kakashi, all packed and already waiting for them. Sasuke glared at them. "You're late," he said sullenly, but Naruto only rolled his eyes. Sakura glared right back at Sasuke, still angry - and hurt - about how he had treated her during their practice.

Kakashi grabbed Sasuke just as the teenager tensed to launch himself at Naruto. Sakura shook her head and began walking out of Konoha, her hands in her pockets. "C'mon, you three!" she said, stopping a couple feet away to look back at them, "We can't waste any more time." Looking out to the horizon, Sakura suddenly was overcome with a sense of fear. _This is our first S-class mission,_ she thought, an icy hand gripping her heart tightly, _There's so much that could go wrong... What if..._

They travelled in silence for a couple hours, all four suffering under the afternoon heat and the harsh sunlight. Sakura was very uncomfortable, as her shorts began chafing her thighs and the combat boots that she hadn't worn in a couple weeks began to rub her ankles raw. The heat wasn't helping either; the sweat beads that ran down her back were annoying.

She glanced to her left. Kakashi had pulled out his Icha Icha Paradise and was content to thumb through the pages again and again, and Sakura scowled, wishing she had something to do that would get her mind off of the heat. "Kakashi?" she asked, and smiled when he looked down at her, "Can I see the mission scroll please?"

"Sure, Sakura," he said, twisting around to grab it out of his pack, "Here."

She unrolled the scroll carefully. On the top of the scroll, the words "PRIORITY MISSION" were stamped across the edge, and underneath it in smaller lettering contained all of the information about the Lord, Igarashi Benjiro. He was a forty year old man with no combat training that came from the Igarashi Clan, one well known in Wind Country for trading. Ten years ago, Lord Igarashi established the city of Iwate, his own trading outpost, and it had grown and flourished until it was one of the top trading destinations in Wind Country. The city was very successful, and the men and women who lived in Iwate were comfortable and just as successful. Though the city was a trading outpost, the level of crime was very low, due to the number of loyal shinobi that worked under Lord Igarashi.

"Kaka-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever met Lord Igarashi?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment, but when he answered, his words were spoken earnestly. "One of the fairest men I've ever met," he said with a small smile, "Lord Igarashi is a good man. The fact that he was overthrown is very troubling, because the majority of people who meet him immediately respect him."

"Do...do you think that Sound has something to do with it?" Sasuke asked from behind her, and she could hear the slight trepidation in his tone despite his apathetic expression. Her eyes narrowed; if only, just once and a while, he _looked_ the way he felt!

The Copy Ninja sighed. "I don't know, Sasuke. It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but then again, I don't understand why anyone would want to remove Lord Igarashi from the head of Iwate. But he does have ties to Konoha and Suna, so it could be possible."

"Is there a chance that Orochimaru will be there too?" Naruto asked. Sakura looked over at him in alarm; his eyes were hard and glittering angrily in his usually happy face, and his fists were clenched in his pockets. She gently put a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to smile encouragingly at her, but she knew it was forced.

"Hopefully not," Kakashi answered, scratching his head, "If that happens, I will call for an ANBU backup. Before you three got there, Tsunade-sama said that she was keeping a squad of ANBU ready if we need them. Thankfully Iwate is close enough to Konoha that if they use the Teleportation Jutsu I left them, the ANBU will get to us in about three hours."

Team 7 fell silent after that.

-

The sun was just beginning to set when Kakashi's gloved hand signaled them to stop. He was uncharacteristically silent as he motioned for them to hide; the hair on the back of Sakura's neck stood up in anticipation. She could _feel_ the hush of the forest as the birds stopped their ruckus and the wind picked up. Something was coming. There was a slight trace of chakra in the air, and then Sakura was aware of the presence of two unknown shinobi.

"Kakashi-sensei," she whispered as quietly as possible, "Hunter-nins?"

"Hai," he muttered, looking unusually grave, "They know where we are, so we need to move, quickly. I feel two of them; you and I can handle one, and Naruto and Sasuke can handle the other."

Sakura nodded in agreement. Her body was tensed and ready to go, her right leg already supporting her weight to help her spring back if she needed to make a hasty retreat. She felt the chakra in the air, surprised. Hunter-nins were very dangerous, ANBU level shinobi. They must purposely be letting their chakra leak if she could feel their presence, for the hunter-nins were prided on their ability to remain undetected. What was going on here?

They were coming closer. Kakashi disappeared into the ground as their purposely-loud footsteps drew closer; her sensei was obviously intent on getting a closer look without being seen. Sakura frowned; why were they letting them know where they were? Did they think that Team 7 wasn't going to be hard to subdue? Because they were in for a big surprise if they thought that Sakura - and Sasuke and Naruto- were genin level shinobi!

There were two shinobi, men, wearing robes and cloths around their heads. One was young and tall, with dark, curly hair sticking out from underneath his hitai-ate and bright blue eyes and a smile on his face, while the other man was older and very thin, streaks of grey starting to stain his brown hair. He too was smiling, though he seemed wiser and more collected than his younger partner. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw their hitai-ates; Sand!

Just as Sakura relaxed, Kakashi erupted from the ground beneath them and raised his hand in greeting. The two shinobi nodded their heads in recognition, and the man with the curly black hair waved back. The older man nearly rolled his eyes at his partner's enthusiasm, but instead he settled for a sheepish half-smile that reminded Sakura of Kiba's when he made a mistake.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, come on out!" Kakashi called for them, and without waiting for the other two to appear, Sakura scrambled out of the bushes and went to stand behind her old sensei. Naruto bounded out as well, waving at the two shinobi in an unrestrained way, while Sasuke, his dark gaze mistrustful, hesitantly left the cover of the bushes to stand a couple feet away from the two newcomers.

Kakashi smiled. "Itanade Jomei is an old friend of mine," he said, indicating the older man before him.

Jomei bowed his head in greeting. "It is nice to finally meet Kakashi's famous students!" His voice was smooth and calming, a testament to his age and experience. He looked at all of them with a kind smile on his face, and Sakura immediately liked the older man. "Allow me to introduce my apprentice, Takahasshi Akeno," Jomei added, and the young man stepped forward, his smile reminding Sakura of Naruto's.

"It's great to meet you," Akeno said warmly, and with a blush, Sakura realized just how handsome he was. His blue eyes were lighter than Naruto's, but seemed to fit in his tan face and mellowed out the darkness of his curly hair. He couldn't have been two years older than they were, but if he was skilled enough to be a Hunter-nin, he must be formidable... Sakura quickly looked to Jomei when Akeno's gaze fell onto hers; she didn't want him to realize that she had been staring, but he must have known, for his cheeks reddened slightly too.

Sasuke and Naruto, however, growled warningly at Akeno. The top of Sasuke's head suddenly blocked Sakura's view as he abruptly appeared before her, and she gaped at his sudden protectiveness. Kakashi laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "You'll have to excuse Naruto and Sasuke," he told Jomei, "They're very protective of Sakura."

Akeno smiled at her. "That's a pretty name," he said quietly, unable to meet her eyes for longer than a second or two.

Sakura blushed darkly. "Thank you," she murmured back, reveling in the attention. _He's staring, he thinks I'm cute! _Then Sakura noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sasuke was staring at her, too. He looked away rather quickly, but it was obvious to her, as well as to Kakashi, that Sasuke was angry.

"Er, Jomei, can I speak with you for a moment?" Kakashi said, staring at Sasuke intently until the teenager looked up at him. Sasuke frowned, and Kakashi pointedly shook his head, a silent warning to Sasuke to behave himself.

"Of course," Jomei replied, and the two older shinobi went to speak a few feet away from the teenagers. Sakura shuffled her feet in embarrassment, glaring at Kakashi for leaving Sasuke and Naruto unsupervised, especially around Akeno. For a few long, uncomfortable, awkward moments, the four simply looked at each other or at the ground. The tension was stifling for Sakura.

"So," Naruto finally drawled, "How old are you?"

Akeno smiled. "I'm eighteen. I turn nineteen in a month."

Naruto glanced at Sakura. "He's too old for you, Sakura-chan."

"Naruto!" she cried, mortified. Akeno laughed nervously, but Sasuke's furious glare soon caused him to stop. "Naruto," Sakura continued, hoping to calm everyone down before a fight broke out, "It's none of your business who I go out with, thank you. And we've only just met Akeno; it's not like we're immediately going to start dating!"

"Gomen, Sakura-chan," Naruto muttered, turning red and looking abashed.

Sasuke, however, was still glaring at Akeno. "I don't care, Sakura," Sasuke said icily without taking his eyes off of the Sand shinobi, "You're not going out with this dobe."

"Oh, and you have the right to say yes or no, do you?" Sakura replied angrily, "You're not my father!"

"I'm your teammate!" he snapped back, his black eyes boring into hers.

Sakura threw her head back and laughed. "Some teammate you are!" she goaded, "A teammate doesn't aim to kill during _practice._"

"I thought you would dodge it!"

"That's not the point! If you had hit me any higher, you would've killed me!"

"You healed your injury in a matter of seconds! You were _fine!_"

Sakura growled. "That's all I am to you, isn't it?" she cried, finally reaching her breaking point, "I'm just a goddamn teammate of yours! I'm not even a _friend_, considering the way you treat me, and I haven't done _anything_ that warrants that kind of treatment from you! But y-you're just a spoiled little brat that throws a tantrum whenever you don't get your own way! Well, welcome to the real world, Sasuke, because that's how it is here!"

She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for his response. Hell, she wouldn't even be surprised if he tried to hit her.

But there was only silence.

When Sakura opened her eyes, Naruto was staring at her with his mouth hanging wide open. Akeno looked very nervous, but he wasn't used to her behavior, so it was apparent he didn't know what to make of her. And Sasuke... Sasuke had disappeared.

-

Kakashi and Jomei had decided to set up camp together, just for the night. Kakashi deemed that they had made good time during the day, so they could afford a night's rest before completing the last stretch of the journey to reach Lord Igarashi tomorrow. Sakura didn't know what the two Sand Hunter-nins were doing this far into Fire Country, but then again, since Gaara-sama and Tsunade-sama were closely allied, the Hokage probably knew about it anyway. Jomei and Kakashi were on friendly terms, which made her feel relaxed and comfortable at the camp. That is, until Sasuke returned.

The six shinobi were currently sitting around the fire, talking quietly. Or, rather, Naruto was trying to join into the conversation with Kakashi, Jomei and Akeno, while Sakura was content to listen in. And Sasuke, sitting across the fire from her, just stared into the flames, lost in thought.

Sakura smiled slightly, watching her blond teammate as he desperately tried to prove himself. Kakashi put a hand over Naruto's mouth to control his outburst as he and Jomei continued to share battle tactics and old mission stories. Sasuke smirked, and Akeno laughed at the expression of surprise and chagrin on the blond's whiskered face. Naruto growled, but then he fell silent, his thoughts already elsewhere.

"Sakura," Naruto began sheepishly a few minutes later, keeping his voice lower than a whisper so no one would hear what he said, "I know its hard to believe, but really, Sasuke attacking you like that was a warped compliment; if he didn't think you were skilled enough, he wouldn't have kicked you like that. And besides, you're the best medic I know, besides Tsunade-baa-chan."

She sighed. "Yeah, I guess..." Though Naruto meant to cheer her up, Sakura's spirits fell even further. _That's a weird way to show affection_, she thought, a wry smile twisting her lips. Why couldn't she have fallen for one of her other friends? Even _Neji_ would be easier to get along with than Sasuke. Neji may be aloof and proper, but that was how he was raised, and he was never deliberately icy. Sasuke, however, reveled in making others uncomfortable and on edge.

Half an hour passed like this, and soon Sakura was feeling very tired. Yawn after yawn assaulted her, and she had difficulty keeping her eyes open. Kakashi smiled at her and ruffled her hair gently. "Sleepy-head," he teased.

Jomei inspected the fire. "We need some more wood, otherwise the fire will go out soon. One of you four can go get it." He grinned at the expression on their tired faces.

Sasuke turned his head to stare at Sakura, and she mentally braced herself. "Why don't you get it?" he said with a smirk, "You didn't help set up the tents, so it's only fair you do _something_."

"Sasuke!" Kakashi and Naruto admonished at the same time, but Sakura was too tired to be very angry.

She only shrugged, knowing that would make the black-haired teenager angry. "Fine," Sakura said nonchalantly, getting to her feet and stretching, "Next time, you can dig the latrine." She resisted a smile at the furious scowl that appeared on his face, then grabbed Naruto's jacket, slung it around her shoulders and walked into the surrounding forest.

"Hey, I'll go with you," Akeno called out from behind her, jumping to his feet and joining her in a few long strides.

Sakura blushed deeply and smiled up at him. "Thanks," she murmured, embarrassed but touched. After her earlier outburst at Sasuke, she had been convinced that he would have avoided her. _Guess I was wrong_, she thought, and couldn't help but be inwardly happy.

Akeno grinned back at her, and Naruto made gagging noises behind them.

"So," Akeno began after a few moments, "Sakura, right?"

Sakura nodded, reaching down to grab a large twig and add it to her pile. "Yeah," she laughed, "My parents were... well, they liked the name."

"It's a pretty name," Akeno said for the second time in a few hours, blushing as he said it, and Sakura found herself smiling along with him. He was very sweet and well mannered as well; Sakura was somewhat drawn to him already.

"What're your parents like?" he asked, breaking a large branch in half and collecting it up into his arms. He seemed genuinely interested.

"Well, they're normal," she replied with a slight smile, gripping Naruto's jacket tighter around her, "They're civilians. I grew up like a normal girl, and joined the ninja academy because my friend was doing it."

"How did they take it?"

"Ah, you know. They were really nervous for me, but they supported my decision. It's odd, sometimes, because when I talk to them, I have to remind myself that they don't understand half of the things I've said. They didn't know anything about chakra until I told them, or jutsu either. Now, though, they must be experts," she joked.

Akeno laughed. "My parents were civilians, too. My father actually forbid me to join, but my mother understood since her sister - my aunt - became a kunoichi. Now, of course, Dad tells everyone who'll listen how proud he is of me. You know, hero of the village in all." His white teeth flashed in a grin. "My mom hits him whenever he starts off on that."

Sakura smiled at him. "I think you're very skilled, for being a Hunter-nin at eighteen!"

Akeno smiled back. "Jomei-sensei has been a great teacher. He's taught me everything, and he's the one that got me this far."

"Kakashi-sensei may be a great teacher, but he's also chronically late for everything. He didn't teach me... I had to learn on my own, but he's the kind of man who gives encouragement and lets his students discover their talents on their own."

The Sand-nin whistled. "The great Copy Ninja," he said, awe apparent in his voice, "Jomei-sensei used to talk about him all of the time."

"Do you know how they met?"

"I think it was during one of the Chuunin exams," he said, "This was only a couple of years ago... fifteen, I think. But Kakashi-sama was one of the proctors, and so was Jomei-sensei. I guess they got to know each other, and became friends. Or acquaintances, I don't know. I do know that Jomei used to write to Kakashi, even when Suna and Konoha weren't on the best of terms."

"I'm glad we have a strong alliance with Suna. It helps that Gaara-sama is an old friend of Naruto's!"

Akeno gaped at her. "Naruto is friends with Kazekage-sama? I mean, I've heard so many good things about Naruto and Konoha, but I never heard about that!" Their arms were now full of firewood, and she knew they had stalled enough in the forest. Turning around, the two headed back toward camp.

Sakura smiled, though it was bittersweet. "Gaara and Naruto...They understand each other," she replied quietly, "They were both orphaned, and both of their villages made them outcasts when they were very young. They understand what it's like to be all alone. Naruto is like a brother to me, like I'm a sister to him, but Gaara and Naruto... they share a common background, and it's a close bond."

Akeno gently took the wood from her arms and carried it for her. "Naruto is lucky to have someone like you as a friend," he complimented, looking down at her softly, "Sakura, I've never really met a kunoichi like you before."

She blushed darkly, looking down at her hands. "Akeno..." she began softly, "That's really sweet of you."

"I mean it," he said earnestly, "All the other kunoichi I know are... actually, kind of scary. Temari-sama, for instance-"

Sakura laughed. "Temari! She wouldn't hurt a fly! Her bark is far worse than her bite!" She could just see the campfire now through the foliage, and she knew they were only a few hundred feet from camp. She felt a warm, bubbly feeling grow in her chest at the warmth and affection Akeno was showing towards her. She felt like she was beautiful...something Sasuke never made her feel. Instead, she felt awkward and uncomfortable around him, but that didn't change the fact that she... What was it she wanted from him, anyway, with a shinobi like Akeno doting on her? An extinguished Hunter-nin like Akeno, or a moody, violent chuunin like Sasuke? But then again, Akeno reminded her of Naruto... like a friend.

"What took you lovebirds so long?" Kakashi asked when they reached the camp." Sakura blushed for the umpteenth time that day, while Akeno just smiled and dropped the firewood into a pile beside the fire. Jomei smiled at his student wickedly.

"Looks like Akeno found himself a nice kunoichi," the older Sand-nin teased.

Sasuke frowned at this, staring accusingly at Sakura. She refused to look over at him, suddenly very angry with her teammate. What was his problem?! He was acting so possessive of her, and he had never shown any interest in her in the past! Instead of acknowledging Sasuke and his sudden affectionate display, she grinned down at Naruto and returned his jacket to him.

"Well," Jomei said as tension filled the clearing once more, "Naruto, would you like to spar with me?"

Naruto jumped at the chance. "Yes, please," he said enthusiastically, shrugging on his jacket and reaching for his weapon's pouch, "Thanks Jomei-san!"

Jomei merely smiled. "Kakashi-san was telling me of your progress. I'd like to see your style of fighting, if you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all, not at all!" the excited blond cried, moving off a couple of feet away from the fire and settling into a defensive crouch. Jomei stood, waiting for him, but Naruto, though he made sometimes stupid mistakes, didn't fall for it.

Sakura sat down next to Kakashi and grinned up at him. "So, what do you think?" she asked her sensei.

Kakashi nodded at her. "I think Naruto will surprise Jomei. Their styles of fighting are far different. While Naruto always takes the offensive with his jutsu and taijutsu combinations, Jomei tends to use genjutsu. I wonder if Naruto will be able to sense it."

A movement to her right caused Sakura to look over; Akeno had settled himself next to her, in between her and Sasuke. She smiled at the Hunter-nin, then turned her attention back to Naruto and Jomei, missing the pleading expression that filled Sasuke's eyes as he watched her.

The fight between Jomei and Naruto blurred with kicks and punches, blocked and returned, over and over and over again. Soon Sakura let her mind drift away...She was so tired, and it must have been really late at night because the moon had risen and fallen already in the sky... The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was Sasuke's face from across the fire, gazing over at her... and if she wasn't mistaken, there was a small smile on his face...

-

She was dreaming, she was positive of that fact. The fire set a warm glow across the clearing, and while her teammates and the two Sand shinobi sat around the fire in an identical fashion as earlier in the night, she could see Sasuke, laughing and joking with Naruto and Akeno, while Kakashi and Jomei looked down at their students proudly. She met Sasuke's gaze from across the fire, and he smiled at her warmly. He raised one hand and beckoned her over towards him, and she did so, but it was as if she were in a fog... his hands suddenly grabbed her own, and he held her close to him-

But then he pushed her away and shook her roughly. "Sakura!" Sasuke said, but his voice and face were changing...

That wasn't Sasuke!

"Sakura," a deeper voice called, and Sakura recognized it as Kakashi's, "Wake up!"

She snapped awake as reality flooded her senses, and realized that she had fallen asleep on her teacher. "Oh!" she cried in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Not to worry, Sakura," he replied kindly, "You started snoring, so I thought you'd want me to wake you up."

_Great_, she thought, gazing down at her hands in mortification. _Can't get any worse right now..._

With a final thump of flesh hitting flesh, Jomei sent Naruto flying through the air with one well-placed kick. Her teammate landed a couple feet away with an "Oomph." He got to his feet with a good-natured laugh and shook hands with the older shinobi. "Thanks!" Naruto called, "That was a lot of fun!"

Kakashi, with a rare smile, said, "I think it would surprise you, Naruto, that you have grown immensely in the years that I have had the privilege of teaching you." _Naruto finally gets the praise he deserves_, Sakura thought, grinning at Naruto proudly while her friend blushed.

Jomei nodded and clapped Naruto on the back. "You did very well," he told the young Leaf shinobi earnestly, "Kakashi was not lying when he spoke of your skills."

"Good job!" Sakura called to Naruto, giving him a swift hug, "You did wonderful!"

"Thanks, Sakura-chan," her friend said sheepishly, though he was grinning.

Even Sasuke congratulated Naruto. "You did good," he said stiffly, but it was genuine.

"Thank you," Naruto replied, and grinned crookedly at the Uchiha, "I did better than you would have."

"You go ahead and think that," Sasuke replied, though there was a small smile turning up the corner of his mouth.

"Teme, take that back!"

"Make me, dobe."

Sakura smiled as she watched the two bicker. _Maybe... maybe Sasuke isn't a lost case afterall,_ she thought, feeling the hope start to rise in her stomach. "Maybe," she whispered.

-

**End of Chapter One! I hope you guys are enjoying "The Mission From Hell" so far!**

**I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed and/or put this on your favorites list and/or alerted this story! I'm taking a plunge right now by attempted a full-length story, so bear with me! The next chapters might be a little slow in coming as my school year finishes up, but this summer should give me plenty of time to chew through some new chapters! Right now I'm predicting around eleven or twelve chapters, though the Prologue and Chapter One might be some of the longer, transitional ones.**

**I promise SOME Sasuke and Sakura fluff in the next chapter, but remember, they probably won't get "together" for at least six/seven more chapters. These things take time, haha!**

**Reviews are welcome!! **

** -Jackie**


	3. Chapter 2

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin (you can contact me at )

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes. And maybe some sex later on.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY**: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke **never** left Konoha and **never** attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did **NOT** attack the Hokage Sarutobi with Orochimaru, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru **did** manage to kill the Sandaime, so **Tsunade is now Godaime**. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, Tenten and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story.

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!

-

**CHAPTER TWO**

-

Sakura awoke just as the sun rose, blearily blinking the sleep from her eyes and yawning. She groaned as the pain in her temples intensified, suddenly wishing that she had gone to bed earlier than she had. She had fallen asleep only hours before... Kakashi and Jomei had entertained the four teenagers with stories from their childhoods... rather, Jomei had shared his own stories as a young boy in the land of Wind, and Kakashi, Sakura was positive, just made up his own stories. Kakashi's tale about fighting off ten jounin shinobi at the age of five was impossible, even for a shinobi of his caliber.

A quick glance around the clearing assured Sakura that Kakashi, Jomei, Akeno and Naruto were still asleep, tucked safely away in their bedrolls. Sakura's eyes lingered on Akeno's still form for a few moments. Sighing, she wished it was Akeno she was in love with. It wasn't hard to like the Sand-nin, but she liked him as a friend, even if he was very handsome. _He seems to like _me_ well enough_, Sakura mused dejectedly, tracing the curves of his face with observing eyes.

Speaking of relationships... or lack thereof... Where was Sasuke? The bedroll beside Naruto's, on closer inspection, was empty.

"Sasuke?" she called out softly, throwing back the top of her bedroll to wobble to her feet. Hissing slightly as the cool morning air hit her skin, Sakura gazed into the canopy of the surrounding forest. "Where are you?" All that answered her was the chatter of birds in the air above her and the occasional rustle caused by the wind. Maybe he was on guard duty... It made sense, since Sasuke would be the one to get landed with it, since he liked solitude so much. Shivering, she grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders, wishing she had thought to bring something warmer, even though they were in the desert.

"Here. I'm right here."

In another tone, those words may have been comforting. But since Sasuke had his chakra masked and could move silently, Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin at his impassive tone. She spun around to see Sasuke enter the clearing, sopping wet. He dropped his shirt onto his empty bedroll and searched through his pack for a new one before throwing it on.

"I went to bathe," he explained needlessly with a shrug.

"Oh," she said, her eyes glued to the small droplet of water that fell from his scalp and roamed over his forehead, over his eyebrow and down the planes of his nose and chin. Sasuke really was terribly handsome... if only he smiled more often. Most of the time he only reminded her of a petulant child with his morose behavior and lack of adult communication skills.

He looked back at her as she gazed at him, though his expression wasn't churlish or moody. "Did you, uh... sleep well?" he tried softly, then cleared his throat and looked away as though the grass was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. His dark hair fell into his face, hiding his eyes from view.

Her eyes widened in surprise at Sasuke's attempt at 'small talk.' "Y-yeah, I slept fine. Uh... you?"

"Other than Naruto's snoring, yeah," he replied, busing himself with rummaging through his pack for Kami knows what. His lips quirked with a repressed smile.

Sakura giggled softly. "Yeah, it's kind of annoying sometimes." _Wow...he made a joke?_

"Hn." And just as it appeared, the moment was gone.

She rubbed her hands together for warmth, then winced at the dirt that was suddenly smeared all over them and underneath her nails. _How attractive,_ she thought wryly, futilely attempting to pick out the dirt and failing miserably. "Oh, Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Where was that river again?"

He glanced up at her with a crooked smirk. "About half a mile to the south," he said, then went back to his work.

"If the others wake up, tell them where I went. I won't take long." Sakura turned around and zipped up her own pack, then slung it over her shoulders. Quickly, she rolled up her bedroll and her blankets, folded them neatly, and then placed them on the ground, ready to go. After pulling on her boots, she concentrated chakra to the bottom of her feet, readying herself to spring into the canopy.

"Sakura?" Sasuke called tentatively right before Sakura was about to leave, and she turned around, confused both by his tone and the fact that he had called her back.

"Yeah?" she murmured.

"I'm... sorry, about our training yesterday morning," Sasuke muttered, gazing up into the canopy above her, red tinging his cheeks slightly.

Sakura beamed at him, and Sasuke in turn relaxed and offered a hesitant smile back. "It's okay, Sasuke," she said warmly, then turned back around and headed off to find that river so she could bathe the dirt away.

-

By the time she was sparkly clean and returned to camp, the other shinobi were wide awake. Kakashi was sitting down against a tree, absentmindedly stirring something in a pot and reading his Icha Icha at the same time. Sasuke, unsurprisingly, was nowhere to be seen, Jomei was sharpening his katana, and Naruto and Akeno were playing a game of shogi that he must have brought with him.

Sakura sighed and plopped herself down on the ground next to Naruto, then opened up her pack and took out a book of new jutsu she had borrowed from the library on Tsunade-shishou's orders that she broaden her knowledge of combat jutsu. Kakashi would probably want to head out in a few hours, but since right now he seemed content to merely sit under the tree and read his "romance" novels, then Sakura could cram some studying in.

After fifteen minutes of reading up on various techniques of offensive jutsu and finding nothing that suited her, Sakura glanced over at the shogi board. "Uh, Naruto," she said just as her teammate reached over to move his piece to the left, "If you move it that way, you'll lose."

"Huh? No, I won't... wait... you're right... Thanks, Sakura-chan!"

"Don't mention it." Besides, Akeno was obviously beating him. If Naruto wasn't aware of that...

Sakura was an expert on shogi, thanks to her lazy friend. Shikamaru had taught her almost everything she needed to know about shogi, not to mention combat skills. He taught her the basic rules of shogi, but refused to tell her his secret weapon. "If I tell you," he had drawled, "then I won't be the best at shogi anymore. You'll have to figure it out yourself if you want to beat me." Secretly, Sakura knew that she would never win against the Nara genius.

Sakura smiled. She was very lucky to have Shikamaru as a friend and mentor. Neji would spar with her from time to time, but he didn't take the time to explain what she was doing wrong like Shikamaru would, or break down a combination attack and teach it to her properly; instead, the Hyuuga would knock her off of her feet and tell her she was sloppy with her hand to hand combat, and they would do the drill over and over again until she figured out what she was doing wrong on her own. Kiba was a lot of fun to spar with, but it was much more entertaining watching him and Naruto spar due to the fact that their strengths lay in the same category: brute strength and a variety of handy ninjutsu. It was definitely Shikamaru that really taught her how to rely on her instincts, and she was so grateful to him.

And right now, Sakura wished she was training with him, not stuck on this dangerous mission that hadn't even really started yet. She sighed in exasperation and rubbed her eyes blearily. _I just want to get this mission over with_, she thought in frustration, _I really wish Shikamaru had come along. I'm not doubting our abilities as a Team, but... this is an S-class mission, and we're only four shinobi...If this is a full scale war between cities, we'll need backup..._

"Breakfast!" Kakashi called out, interrupting Sakura and her thoughts. She shook her head, slightly happy that they had been interrupted. She needed to clear her head... they would be fine! Kakashi-sensei was with them, and he was a feared shinobi! Even now in training sessions the three of them barely managed to keep him down for long...

"We'll be fine," she whispered, though her words were empty.

-

An hour later, after breakfast was consumed and the campsite picked immaculate and lacking any sign that six shinobi camped there for the night, Kakashi got to his feet and cleared his throat. "Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto," he said, "It's time for us to leave." The five looked up at them and nodded reluctantly.

"Us as well," Jomei declared, standing up beside his protege, laying a hand on Akeno's shoulder. "We must finish our mission."

Kakashi shook hands with Jomei. "Good luck," he said, and received a nod in return. Jomei then patted Naruto's head and shook Sasuke's hand in farewell. Then, the old Sand shinobi shook Sakura's hand as well.

"Watch over your family," he said kindly, his experienced eyes twinkling.

"You as well," she replied warmly. Sakura then looked over at Akeno, who looked reluctant to leave. "It was great to meet you, Akeno!"

Akeno shook the black curls out of his face with a laugh. "You too, Sakura." Swiftly, he pulled her into a hug. Sakura hugged him back, liking the feel of his hard, strong body against hers. It felt... well, not like she had hoped it would. It was too much like a friendship than a romance...

"Goodbye, Akeno," she whispered.

And then the two Sand Hunter-nins waved a last goodbye, then disappeared into the forest as quickly as they had appeared upon them. Sakura blinked; last night seemed like a dream already. Not to mention this morning... what was with Sasuke's sudden change in behavior?

Sakura sighed, deflated. "No use worrying about it now," she muttered.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked her, confused.

"Ah, nothing!" she replied hurriedly, blushing, "Just talking to myself."

Sasuke merely frowned, but then his attention turned to Kakashi, who had begun to walk. "C'mon," the Copy ninja called over to them, "We've got to head out. We should reach Igarashi-san by late afternoon if we make good enough time."

"Hai!" Naruto said with a grin, shouldering his pack.

Sakura smiled at him, then punched him lightly in the arm. Over Naruto's fake groans and mumbles of pain, she teased, "That's new! You're the first to agree!"

"I'll have you know, Sakura-chan, that I do not argue as much as I used to!"

"Hn," Sasuke interjected with a smirk, "Dobe, you're known in Konoha for arguing, not for diplomacy."

"Or tact," Sakura smiled, throwing her arm around Naruto's shoulder and hugging him, "But we love you."

The dark haired Uchiha snorted, then increased his pace to walk slightly in front of them, "Speak for yourself, Sakura." His stride was subtly flaunting his words to Naruto, and she could feel the blond tense, ready to attack his friend and brother yet again. His blue eyes were glaring at Sasuke's back, and just when Sakura thought for sure that an earnest fight would break out, Naruto grinned and merely punched him.

"Teme!"

And then the bickering began. Again.

Within hours, the thick, overgrown forest had soon melded into swampland with itchy mosquitos and a dense, heavy fog that curtained everything more than five feet in an obscure cloud. And even more slowly, the marsh receded into long fields and meadows, the late summer bringing the last flowers to their brilliance as the long grass soon became yellow and bleached from the harsh sun. The terrain also changed; instead of the gracefully sloping hills and beautiful riverbeds, now there were only sharp cliffs and rocky outcrops dotting the horizon, with sparse wildlife and plant life. As Team 7 left the forest of their homeland behind, the temperature steadily climbed; if Sakura thought it was hot in Fire Country, it was nothing compared to how stifling it was in Wind Country without any trees that offered both shade and protection. Poor Naruto, trudging along in front of her, was sweating profusely and gasping for breath in the hot daylight where moisture was sparse. Every so often, the blond teenager tugged at the collar of his t-shirt, having discarded his track jacket a long time ago; now it was wrapped around his head like a makeshift burnoose. Sakura was envious of him; she didn't really have anything that large that could serve as a shield for her. Even Kakashi had taken off his jounin vest, slinging it over his shoulder. His standard issue shirt was wrapped around his silver mane of hair; he appeared much more comfortable only in his sleeveless, masked shirt and pants. Sasuke too had unwrapped his arm bindings and placed them in his pack, but in his shorts and black, sleeveless shirt, he was cool enough already.

Sakura, however, was nearly as hot as she had been at the bridge in Konoha two days ago as they waited for Kakashi. Her black sleeveless top did nothing to cool her down; instead, the dark color seemed to _attract_ heat, and the netting she wore underneath it itched and chafed uncomfortably. Her shorts were damp from her sweat, and after awhile, her large, leather combat boots and her pack began to feel like they weighed a hundred pounds.

Falling behind slightly as Kakashi led Naruto and Sasuke forward across the arid desert, Sakura mounted a large boulder and scanned the horizon. All around her was wasteland... and everything looked the same. Except for a knotted, twisted old tree off in the distance to the east, there was nothing remarkable about the landscape. Everything was brown and yellow. How Iwate grew to be such a large trading establishment was beyond her knowledge, but since, from the description given to her in the mission scroll labeled Iwate as an oasis in the middle of the desert, she wasn't surprised.

For a few long moments, Sakura merely gazed at the surrounding land as she fought to catch her breath. It was lucky Kakashi was such a good navigator, with or without sun, because she'd be lost in the endless dirt and sand. Not to mention she'd die of dehydration rather quickly if she lost her way.

"Sakura," Sasuke called over to her. She looked over at him; he had stopped and turned slightly to glance over his shoulder as Kakashi and Naruto continued to walk. "Are you coming?"

"Hai, Sasuke," she replied, jumping down from the boulder and walking over to him, "I was just looking around."

He nodded, face as unreadable as ever. "It's a good thing to be alert," he commended, "But there's no way for enemy shinobi to hide out here. There's no cover." With a sigh, he turned back around and together they trailed behind their other two teammates.

"Well, there could be shinobi from Stone," Sakura reasoned, "Using jutsu like Kakashi-sensei does, when he hides underground."

"That's unlikely."

"But not impossible."

"Improbable."

"It _could_ happen."

"Hn."

Sakura sighed at Sasuke's choice of words, knowing that the conversation was over. She wished... well, if she wished he was like any other guy, then he wouldn't be Sasuke. Why oh why did she have to like such an infuriating man? She felt like a masochist sometimes because she knew that her feelings were not reciprocated. It was odd, her relationship with Sasuke. One day he treats her like the dirt underneath his sandals and tries to kill her during training, and then the next, he attempts to start a conversation with her. The ups and downs really was confusing.

Looking up at the cloudless sky, Sakura realized that the afternoon was wearing down. "Kakashi-sensei?" she called, and her silver-haired teacher turned his head in acknowledgment of her question, "Aren't we getting close to the area Lord Igarashi is supposed to meet us?"

Kakashi stopped. "Yes," he said, straightening up from his slouch, "I'm afraid I lost track of time." He turned to face his students. "Alright, your mission has begun. This is where it gets tricky. I want you all to be on your guard, until this mission is over. That means that when we camp, two sleep, and two have sentry duty. As soon as we make contact with Igarashi-san, we'll need to be ready for any kind of attack. If I'm guessing correctly, Maeno Montaro, if that is indeed his name, will want him dead-"

"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto interrupted, his blue eyes wide in his tan face and one finger pointing to the east, "Smoke!"

"Where?" he commanded, swirling around to follow Naruto's gaze. Sakura turned to look; many miles away, a small curl of smoke could be seen on the horizon, barely more than a dot. Her stomach sunk in horror; whatever it was, that smoke didn't signal anything good.

"I'll sent my Ninken dogs to see what it is," Kakashi said, lowering his mask and biting his thumb. Releasing the catch on his kunai pouch, he withdrew a long scroll and smeared the blood across it. Within seconds, a small explosion went off in front of the Copy Ninja, revealing Pakkun. Pakkun shook out his short, bristly fur and gazed up at his long-time companion.

"What is it?" the pug rasped, and then wagged his curly tail in a distracted greeting when he saw the others.

Kakashi pointed towards the smoke. "You, Sasuke and I will go and scout up ahead. If that has anything to do with Igarashi-san and other shinobi, I'll need to stay behind, and you'll need to call in Sakura and Naruto." After addressing Pakkun and Sasuke, Kakashi turned to Sakura and Naruto. "I want you two to circle around to the rear of whatever this is, and do so quietly. I only want you to fight when I give you the signal, understood?"

"Hai!" Sakura and Naruto chorused.

"If everyone is ready..." Pakkun began, and Team 7 nodded.

"Move out!"

With that, Kakashi, Sasuke and Pakkun set off, running across the plains at a surprising speed. Giving them a few seconds head-start, Sakura glanced over at Naruto, smiled and nodded, and then followed off with her teammate, racing off behind the others. After a few hundred yards, the three veered off to the left. Her earlier exhaustion was left in the dust as they ran.

"That's our cue," Sakura panted to Naruto as the team split up, "Mask your chakra, baka!"

Naruto threw his head back and laughed. "Hai, Sakura-chan!"

The two ran at a breakneck speed; the plumes of smoke that had previously been only a speck on the horizon were now coming into focus sharply on their left. Not so far away now was a large village, the outlines hazy through the opaque fog obscuring all of it but the rooftops. What appeared to be a high rock wall surrounded the village and blocked her vision, but the tops of the stone buildings was visible. Everything was eerily still, but she could just pick out traces of a bright light flickering against the stone.

"It's a fire!" Naruto suddenly roared to her angrily, "The whole damn village is on fire!"

"What?!" Sakura cried, frantically attempting to force her legs even faster, but she was already at her limit, "Are you sure? Oh Kami!"

"We have to hurry!"

Sakura nodded, and then whipped her head around to find the distant figures of Kakashi, Sasuke and Pakkun headed towards the front gates. She and Naruto raced towards the village, steadily getting closer and closer. Finally, when they were only a hundred yards away, Naruto reached into his kunai pouch and took one of the knives out, then bit down on it, freeing his hands. Following his example, Sakura unsheathed her shuriken and gripped them in her fist, the points splayed out like a claw. This, combined with a chakra blade in her right hand, proved a deadly attack to any enemy shinobi not familiar with her attack patterns. If anyone was left alive, anyway.

Together, they leapt the high stone wall and vaulted on to the other side. Coughing, Sakura turned to Naruto and managed to rasp, "Leak a little of your chakra. I'll scan to see if I sense anything."

With a nod, Naruto complied, and Sakura used his chakra trace to cover her own; however, a search of the village revealed no other chakra traces immediately present, but there were large traces still remaining in the air... "Shinobi," Sakura murmured to him, "Maeno Montaro must have shinobi working for him, for there was a fight here. Lord Igarashi...I hope he is still alive..."

"Can you recognize any chakra signatures?" Naruto asked, his eyes fierce, "Did you sense anything familiar?"

She shook her head, knowing he meant Akatsuki or Sound, and her teammate relaxed slightly. "Good."

Suddenly, Kakashi, Sasuke and Pakkun appeared next to them. "I detected no enemy presence," Sasuke explained, panting and holding a stitch in his side, "Just chakra traces."

"Same here," Sakura offered, glancing up at their team leader.

Kakashi sighed and shoved one hand into his pocket. He looked lost for an answer, and Sakura could only be happy that she was not the one who had to lead the squad in a mission such as this. "We will need to search the village... if there's a chance Igarashi-san remains in this village, we'll need to find him." He glanced down at Pakkun, "I apologize. I don't have his scent for you to follow. We'll have to do this the hard way."

"Okay, let's split up," Naruto recommended hastily, "We'll cover more ground that way!" He was just as eager to find their next lead as she was!

With a nod of agreement, the four shinobi and Pakkun sprung away and headed in opposite directions. Sakura raced through the burning streets, ignoring the heat and burn of the fire and the smoke that threatened to clog her lungs. There had to be _someone_ alive! But other than the roar of the fire and the screaming of the wind, the only thing Sakura heard were her hollow footsteps as she desperately ran. The village was too large...they might not find any survivors in time to save them before the fire grew out of control!

Sakura slowed down as she reached a small square where stores and shops had previously inhabited. All that remained now was debris covering the stone square, and a statue of a man now was faceless, destroyed either by those who attacked the village or by the destruction of the fire. She looked around... and saw nothing. With a small cry of frustration, Sakura angrily brushed the tears from her eyes. "This doesn't make sense!" she whispered harshly, "There has to be someone left!" She desperately trudged on, block after block.

A dark mass out of the corner of her eye near the village gates to the east made Sakura stop dead in her tracks. When she turned her head and her eyes trained on the figures that were eerily hanging five feet off of the ground, she opened her mouth and let out an unearthly wail of defeat.

Swaying slightly in the unforgiving wind were three bodies, suspended by their necks, unmistakably mutilated and then burned. Sakura, falling to her knees in the dirt and sand could only stare in horror; there was a smaller body in between what looked like two adults... a mangled body of a young girl... who could do such a thing?

"NO!" she screamed, then buried her face in her hands and sobbed. It was too late. She was too late.

The next thing Sakura was aware of were two strong arms wrapping around her shoulders and dragging her to her feet. She barely had time to glimpse Sasuke's horrified face through her tears before he spun her around in his grasp and pressed her face into his shoulder. "It's okay," he whispered, his arm clenching around her body tightly. Although his hold on her was meant to be comforting, the sensation was rather like being tightly squeezed to a brick wall, but Sakura was nevertheless touched by his concern. But then the reason for his concern sent her from a faint surprise into tears again.

Three steps of footsteps sounded behind Sasuke, and Sakura raised her head from his shoulder slightly to see Kakashi, Naruto and Pakkun arrive. "Oh Kami," Kakashi breathed as he spotted the bodies, his lone visible eye wide in his face, "What have they done...?"

"What's that?" Naruto asked, leaning forward and squinting into the darkness. He walked over to the smoldering bodies and gently cut them down. He carefully placed the bodies on the ground, and then grabbed a piece of what looked like wood from the rope that had held the girl. "Beware," he read to them, "This will be your warning. If you continue to follow us, there will be repercussions."

"It looks like Maeno knows we're coming," Sasuke said icily, releasing Sakura from his grip.

Kakashi nodded, face grim as he stared at the decimated forms of the three civilians. "We need to find Igarashi-san. If he's alive."

-

**Author's Note:**

**There you are, chapter two! This is a transitional chapter to the next stage of "The Mission From Hell," so I apologize if the plot didn't really seem to go anywhere too important... However, this chapter is important, not only because there are tiny hints of a foreshadowing, but if you skip paragraphs, you might be missing some character progression... Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**

**I hope to have chapter three out by the end of next week!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes. And maybe some sex later on.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY**: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke **never** left Konoha and **never** attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did **NOT** attack the Hokage Sarutobi with Orochimaru, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru **did** manage to kill the Sandaime, so **Tsunade is now Godaime**. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, Tenten and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story.

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!

-

**CHAPTER THREE**

-

Sakura remained in a stupor for the remainder of the night. Team 7 had abandoned the city; the fire had spread too rapidly to continue a search, but they all knew, even if none of them voiced those thoughts, that there was no one left alive. Now they were in the middle of the desert, all hunched around a small that was the only source of warmth in the harsh land where the temperature was stifling during the day and icy during the night. Vaguely she heard Kakashi remark that she might have gone in to shock, but the medic inside of her knew she was fine. She was just... shell shocked, that was it. The sight of that poor girl's body was going to be forever burned into her mind's eye... even now the thought of it was making her stomach roll.

Sakura clenched her legs closer to her body, as much for warmth as it was for comfort, an action of a small child when they were frightened in the dark. She didn't care what her raven-haired teammate thought right now; she felt like a heavy weight had descended onto her shoulders, and her movements were weak and sluggish, like she were under water. She was impervious to the concerned looks she got from Kakashi, the confused and sad glances that Naruto sent her way, and the inquisitive stares of Sasuke.

_If we hadn't stayed the night,_ she thought dejectedly, _If we had gone immediately this way, we would have gotten there in time... We could have _saved_ them!_

The fire crackled in front of her, jolting her back into her body. She inhaled sharply, icy air sucked into her lungs hungrily. Around her there was silence... the silence was going to kill her. The tension was rising... Sakura glanced up.

"How are you?" Sasuke asked her from her left quietly.

She looked over at him. "Fine," she murmured back softly, then stretched out her cramped legs with a sigh. "Kakashi-sensei?" she ventured, "What do we do next?"

The jounin merely shook his head and threw another stick onto the fire. "We rest. Tomorrow we'll continue our search. Sasuke, you and I will take the first watch." Kakashi got to his feet and stretched before walking over to stand beside her. The elder shinobi put a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile before continuing on his way to the edge of camp.

Sakura turned around, grabbed her pack and shook out her bedroll, setting it down next to the fire. She slid off her boots and gloves and stuffed them inside her bag, along with her kunai pouch and shuriken holster. Slowly, she climbed into her bedroll and drew the blankets around herself as Naruto settled in beside her in his. Both mechanically untied their hitai-ates and placed them on the ground next to their bedrolls.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said quietly as Kakashi and Sasuke wandered off a couple feet away from the fire to wait out the night. He lay down on his side, propping his head up with his arm as he gazed at her.

"Naruto?" Sakura whispered, looking over at him.

"C'mere," he said, holding open his arms in an invitation. He waggled his eyebrows at her, and she giggled at the joke, knowing that they both needed some comfort after finding the village in shambles. They were shinobi, so death should be natural to them. But no matter how much death is seen, it still hurts. And for Sakura, a healer by nature, the wound ran deep. In Naruto as well, judging by the haunted gaze of his eyes as he looked at her.

With a small smile and sharp tears pricking her eyes, Sakura threw her blankets back and closed the space between them, wrapping her arms around Naruto tightly as he ensconced her in a tight embrace. "Thanks, Naruto," she murmured against his shoulder, hiccuping softly. For all of his blunders and rude behavior, Naruto really did know how to read and interpret emotions. He usually knew what she wanted before _she _did.

"Sleep tight, you," Naruto yawned back, already half asleep. Sakura could feel his muscles already loosening as his breathing evened out, and soon, the comforting _whoosh_ of his breath acted like a drug and caused her body to shut down and welcome the darkness of sleep. Sometimes it was nice to just have a friend.

-

A careful shaking of her shoulder roused Sakura from her deep and dreamless slumber. "H-huh?" she murmured, eyes refusing to open. _Why is Naruto at my apartment this early_? she thought as she caught a glimpse of his blond hair before the cold of the ground and the arm haphazardly thrown over her brought back reality in a rush of sensations.

She sat bolt upright, startling Sasuke, who had crouched down beside her to wake her up, and rousing Naruto, whose arm was shaken off rather roughly. The night air was chilly, and she shivered slightly. "W-what time is it?" she stuttered out, still so very tired. The pounding in her temples slowly receded as all traces of sleep disappeared.

Sasuke's eyes were intent on her face despite the darkness. "Around four in the morning. I need to get some sleep." He straightened his legs abruptly and then stalked off to his bedroll, leaving her to wake up Naruto.

"Of course," she yawned, reluctantly shoving back the blankets to free her legs. "C'mon, Naruto."

"Mmm...comin'..." the blond murmured against his pillow, for all purposes already falling asleep again.

Sighing, Sakura climbed to her feet and stood next to her bedroll for a few moments as she regained her balance. She walked over to where Kakashi already lay sleeping, smiled at the sight, and then continued a couple feet to the edge of camp and sat down in the lukewarm sand. A hint of the blue dawn barely touched the rocks and sand, resulting in a slight glimmer across the sand dunes. Closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around her legs, Sakura reached for her chakra and sent out a small piece of chakra to scan the surrounding area.

Nothing.

Not that she had been expecting anything anyway, considering there was no place to hide in a place like this.

Minutes flew by as Sakura meditated, though her chakra was always alert on the surrounding land.

Still nothing.

Seconds passed, then minutes, then hours, until the sun began to shine steadily brighter and brighter as the unforgiving landscape warmed under its rays. Sakura welcomed the gradual warmth that was sucked up by the sand; it felt like she was sitting on a cushion oh-so slowly heating up. And with the sun came a sense of ease to the campsite. Naruto, Sakura belatedly realized, had never woken up for his duty, but she found in this peaceful atmosphere she didn't really care. After all, if there had been trouble, he would have woken up at the slightest _chink_ as kunai hit kunai.

Slowly, Sakura got to her feet and pointed her arms toward the sky, stretching out her muscles. She worked her way down her arms to her shoulders, rotating her arms around and around in the sockets to warm them up before bending down to touch her toes. Once Sakura was done with every inch of her legs, she flipped her hair out of her face and gazed up at the sun. It must be around 7 o'clock in the morning, if her estimation was correct, judging by the brightness of the sun and its position in the sky. She supposed that out in the desert it didn't make much of a difference; traveling during midday was crazy, and heat stroke was inevitable.

Although she had been meditating all night and thinking was tiring business, Sakura was more than ready to leave. Adrenaline pounded through her veins; she _needed_ to find out if Lord Igarashi was alive... or if not, help lead a resistance against that dictatorship that had replaced Igarashi! And get vengeance for the _entire village_ that had been killed due to Maeno Montaro's men. At least, she hoped she it was Maeno, because he was a known threat. Add another enemy in there and it wasn't only an S class mission, but an ANBU one.

A noise to her left startled her, and Sakura spun around, hand already on her kunai. Only the sleepy face of Kakashi met her gaze, and she relaxed with a relieved sigh. "Thank Kami you're finally up!" she grinned, and her loud praise roused Naruto and Sasuke as well. The blond groaned and rubbed his eyes, while Sasuke sat up and stretched out his shoulder. Sakura stared at him; usually, if she looked at him long enough, their eyes would meet. But Sasuke must not have noticed, or must purposely be ignoring her, for he didn't even glance in her direction as he splashed his face with the remaining water in his canteen.

"Alright," Kakashi said wearily, slinging on his long-sleeved jounin shirt and zipping up his vest on top of it, "Naruto, hurry up! We'll eat breakfast along the way."

-

The walk to the next village, according to the map that Kakashi consulted but no one else saw, was ten miles away from the smoldering village Team 7 had investigated the night before. The trip over was uneventful, only if Naruto managing to break a boulder into thousands of tiny chips with a badly aimed punch at Sasuke for a snide comment was considered normal.

Soon enough, the village came into view. Sakura sighed in relief; there were no towering smoke plumes around this one, just glinting stone and the shimmering haziness of the sun beating down against the desert sand. In the distance far to the right, a cloud of sand blurred the horizon; Kakashi told them it was a caravan, due to the large amount of dirt, dust and sand being stirred up.

"Take off your hitai-ates," Kakashi ordered when they reached the front gates, untying his from around his silver mane and shaking it loose. Following his example, Sakura untied the knot holding hers in place and slid it off. Quickly, she opened her back and stowed it inside. On a second glance at her body, she took off her kunai pouch and shuriken holster and put them inside too. Better that she be as inconspicuous as possible, for they would be encountering a lot of people today, people that necessarily probably didn't trust shinobi at all. Even though the small villages that were located in Wind Country were under the protection of the Kazekage, many still didn't support the alliance with Konoha and maintained the idea that they were enemies here. Still, Sakura tucked away a flat kunai up her sleeve, just in case.

The four large bundles Kakashi drew from his pack drew her attention. Kakashi shook out one bundler and threw it around his shoulders; a cloak. "Here." He handed one to each of them. Sakura opened the bundle and held up her dark green travel cloak. "Everyone here wears something similar," their ex-sensei explained needlessly.

Then he turned his attention to Sakura as she put the cloak on and tied it around her neck and waist. "You'll need this." He handed her a pale green scarf. "Women here wear headdresses; your hair will need to be covered."

Sakura sighed. "Alright," she agreed, knowing it would help to make her blend in more, both with the women and that pink hair wasn't a very common color. She put on the veil around her nose and mouth and then covered her hair up with another scarf. When she was done, she nodded at Kakashi.

The four ambled down through the gates, passing through the first and then the second with ease. Slipping in with a large throng of cattle-herders, the team managed to sneak by security without having to either pay the toll or show passports.

When they reached one of the main streets of the village some twenty minutes later, Kakashi turned around in the middle street to address them. The busy villagers bustling in the streets around them sent them a scathing look, for now they had to push and shove into the crowd to manage to get around the miniature blockade they had created.

"Here's where we split up. There's too much ground to cover if we all stick together, and we're conspicuous enough that we may be caught. Sakura, who do you want to go with?" Kakashi asked, rubbing the back of his head angrily as a rather large man shouldered his way past the elite shinobi. Sakura giggled; if only that rude old man knew who it was he pushed!

"Uh... Naruto, mind if I go with you?" Sakura asked, ignoring the way Sasuke's head snapped around to stare at her in surprise.

"Sure, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said with a grin, adjusting the straps of his pack, "But we have to stop for lunch!"

She laughed. "Fine, fine."

"Here," Kakashi interrupted, pulling four sets of tiny microphones to place in their ears, "We'll keep in touch with these. If you see or sense any shinobi, contact Sasuke and I immediately."

"Hai."

And then Naruto was dragging her down the overcrowded streets of the city. They passed shop after shop, from food shops displaying ramen or a more traditional variety to ice cream parlors and jewelry vendors until Sakura's head begun to spun. The bright colors of the textile cloths and silks displayed on mannequins and on racks sent her head reeling, and the sheer _amount_ of things that salesmen pressed upon the crowd was astounding. Naruto even stopped at one cart to hold up a bright blue sash with small flowers and pearls sewn into the silk. "Sakura!" he had called, "This would match your blue kimono perfectly!"

The two women working the shop had smiled and whispered behind their fans; they obviously thought that Naruto was a young suitor of hers.

She had smiled. "Thanks, Naruto, but I don't have enough for that."

The rest of the afternoon continued that way. Sakura and Naruto wandered up street after street, pausing to look into windows and amble on through store after store and tea house after tea house, spending ten minutes in each, trying to inconspicuously pick up on any conversation centering around Lord Igarashi or the burning village. Once, in the apothecary, Sakura heard the name "Igarashi." She had stopped dead in her tracks, her hand stilling over a book. As the people around her glanced up at her sudden presence, Sakura busied herself as convincingly as she could with the book as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. But then they began to walk around the shop, and no matter how hard she strained to hear them, she picked up nothing important or relevant to their mission.

Up and down the nearby street, then over two blocks, Naruto and Sakura had ended up at the tea shop that Kakashi had recommended trying. Gingerly, Sakura pushed open the long cloth that served as a door and entered the shop. A rush of cool air hit her, and blinking in the sudden darkness of the room in contrast to the unrelenting sun, she made out a small, quaint interior filled with small tables and a bar lining the opposite wall. She smiled despite herself; even in a tea shop, alcohol was being served.

As inconspicuously as she could, Sakura pretended to be inspecting the menu as she murmured into the microphone, "Kakashi, we're here."

_"Good. Sasuke and I haven't found anything."_

"Neither have we."

However, just as she said that, Naruto gently touched her arm. When she glanced over at him, she saw he was staring intently at the corner of the tea house, near the doors for the kitchen. Two middle-aged men sat there, both with their hoods up, one leaning back on his chair and balancing himself with his foot, and the other watching his partner intently as they spoke very quietly. Quietly enough for them to have to read each others lips... There! A slight hint of chakra! They were shinobi alright, and due to the scars on their hands that their long sleeves helped to hide, experienced ones at that! And the poor waitress that was waiting on them was trembling slightly... Sakura could pick up those vibrations from the air.

Naruto leaned toward her, snaking his arm around her waist. "Stay calm," he murmured, "We'll pretend to be a couple, that way we're less noticeable." Louder, Naruto grinned, "C'mon love, over here. I've heard that this tea shop is one of the best in town! You'll love it!"

Sakura giggled flirtatiously, playing her part. "Of course, darling. You know it doesn't matter where you take me, so long as I'm with you."

Together they went to the bar and sat down at the benches. The bartender came over and took their orders, but by the time Sakura glanced over at the two men, they were standing up, slinging their cloaks over their shoulders to leave the tea shop. She watched intently from the corner of her eye as the man who had been tipping his chair back reached into his pocket. For a horrible second, Sakura thought that he would withdraw a kunai, but instead, he only threw a tip on the table before he and his companion left the shop.

"Sakura!" Naruto whispered hurriedly, "We have to go!"

They gave the men a few seconds heads start, then snuck out of the door as quietly as possible. Sakura whirled around the corner, doing her best to remain as quiet as possible. Thankfully, the dull roar from the crowds of people in the streets helped to cover up the soft clicking of her sandals against the cobblestones. Behind her, Sakura heard Naruto mutter into the microphone, "Kakashi-sensei! We're tailing two shinobi, repeat, we're tailing two likely shinobi!"

They flew down the dark alleyway. At the end were the two men, walking side by side calmly down the street, but when they realized someone was behind them, both spun around with reflexes too sharply honed to be merely civilians. With a growl, Sakura concentrated chakra on her fists and feet; hopefully mere taijutsu would be enough to keep them occupied until Kakashi and Sasuke showed up to help. And besides, she had to access their level somehow; if she started out with her powerful jutsu first, then half of her chakra reserve would be gone.

Sakura raced towards the shorter one with a snarl; the man, expecting a punch from her left fist, was suddenly sent flying back when a surprise attack from her right fist caught his jaw. He cursed, and then scrambled to his feet, whipping out a kunai from his pouch.

"You bitch!" the man screamed at her angrily, throwing back the hood of his cloak to reveal a face just as scarred as his hands. A large chunk of flesh had been taken from his right cheek and had healed horribly, scar tissue covering it, while the other cheek was red with rage. He swung at her wildly, and Sakura was forced to back up. From the sounds of battle a few feet away, she knew Naruto and the other shinobi were fighting, but right now, she couldn't risk the change and ascertain if her partner was alright. Her shinobi probably wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

With a gasp of alarm, Sakura realized that his hitai-ate had the symbol for Sound on it. "Sound!" she muttered hoarsely.

The shinobi only sneered at her. "That's right, darlin'. But I'll have to kill you, now that you and this idiot have blown our cover. Maeno-sama won't be pleased if we let you live." He took another swipe at her with his kunai, one that nicked Sakura on her upper arm.

Sakura retreated in surprise; he was much faster than she had originally thought! That first shot at her must have been just a decoy! And Maeno! So _these_ were his hired thugs, and quite possibly part of the group of shinobi that had murdered that entire village!

Behind her, a loud explosion sounded, followed by a grunt of pain. Naruto! Forgetting the danger, Sakura spun around and ran to save her teammate; Naruto's opponent, the other Sound shinobi, was holding him against the brick wall by his neck, slowly and painfully cutting off his circulation. She slipped the kunai from her sleeve and injecting chakra into it to make it stronger, aimed for the arm holding Naruto up. The chakra reached the shinobi's arm first, followed by the kunai; the combined attack cut through the arm, through the bone, and clear to the other side. When Naruto dropped, gagging and gasping for air, so did the arm of the shinobi.

The scream of pain from the enemy made the hair on the back of Sakura's neck prickle. Taking a defensive stance in front of Naruto as he recovered, she watched as the shinobi with the hitai-ate wrapped around his neck pulled his wounded partner to his feet.

Now was her chance! Kakashi and Sasuke had better be just around the corner, or this attack of hers would fail. It wasn't guaranteed to work, anyway, but it was one of her only options, with Naruto out of commission for a few more moments. The Sound shinobi were two strong for her to handle by herself. Rapidly forming the hand seals, Sakura muttered, "_Kanashibari no Jutsu!"_

Sakura grinned wickedly as both of the enemy, having lost all control and function over their motor skills and direction, collapsed into a heap on the ground. The grin soon slipped from her face when she realized that her chakra was draining rather rapidly; technically, the jutsu she had just used was ANBU level. Tsunade had taught it to her a year ago, but Sakura hadn't had any opportunities to use it in battle; usually she tried to conserve all the chakra she could. Her control of chakra may be excellent, but she didn't have to reserves her teammates had to draw from. In reaction to the energy being drawn from her body to power the jutsu, Sakura began sweating, and her knees began to tremble.

Naruto struggled to his feet. With one hand on her shoulder to steady himself, he yelled angrily into the microphone, "Kakashi-sensei, teme, where are you?!"

"Right here," Kakashi answered as he leapt into the alleyway and glanced down at the pile of shinobi at his feet. Sasuke landed next to him, breathless.

"What happened?" their dark haired teammate demanded, taking in Naruto's slumped stance and Sakura's obvious exhaustion.

"Sound," Sakura replied wearily, sitting down and leaning against the wall behind her tiredly, "Maeno hired Sound shinobi."

-

Kakashi had rented a hotel room for their purposes, as Sakura and Naruto both were sore and exhausted after the intense fight against the shinobi. They had meekly followed Kakashi and Sasuke back to the dingy hotel quietly which proved their exhaustion. If Sakura was herself, she would have shied away from the grubby, dirty looking "hotel"; it more closely resembled an old ruin, due to the vines and moss growing on it and the amount of trash surrounding the entire place. Her and Naruto slept away the afternoon as their two other teammates tried searching the village for clues again and to stock up on supplies. But they had no such luck; after the two Sound shinobi, the trail had run cold.

That night, Sakura was woken up by her sensei. "Your turn," he had simply before undressing quickly and slipping underneath the covers of the bed she had just vacated. Sakura could only shake her head and smile wryly; Kakashi really was very lazy. Well, not in battle, but at all other times he more than made up for it!

Sliding open the dirty sliding class door, Sakura stepped out onto the balcony and sighed in relief as icy air hit her warmed skin. Looking out over the railing at the dark shapes of the houses and buildings in the distance, she closed her eyes and allowed all of her thoughts and feelings to flood her in her solitude as she meditated.

Sakura was surprised by the coldness Sasuke now showed her. Yesterday he had obviously stepped past his comfort zone to apologize to her for the incident during training, and in the village, had even held her... well, that was debatable, since he had just crushed her body to his... It wasn't a hug. It was more like... like finding a handhold, a grip on something tangible as the bodies had swayed in the air above them.

She sighed, reclining back against the wall of their dingy hotel and closing her eyes. She couldn't see much in the dark anyway due to the lack of lanterns around the cheap excuse for a hotel; instead, she relied on her chakra.

There!

Sakura flew to her feet, dislodging the cloak from around her shoulders. There was a spark of chakra in the street below them!

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" she roared, already having jumped off of the balcony and streaking over to that spark. Her sandal caught on a stray rock and tore, sending her flying forward, yet she righted herself and hastily pressed on. _Great_, she thought, _I'm so graceful. _Commotion behind her told her that Kakashi was hot on her heels, despite having been sound asleep only moments before. Soon, the undeniably taller shinobi passed her, his long legs extending his stride. Wryly, Sakura smiled; he had always been a faster runner.

Closer and closer they ran to the spark of chakra, weaving in and out of alleyways and sometimes making a detour to a rooftop. When they finally managed to reach the chakra source, a man stood in front of them, hands up in the air in front of them.

"Please, I'm not your enemy," he said in a deeply accented voice.

Sakura and Kakashi stopped a few feet from him, though they made no move to attack him. Sakura's head was swimming with curiosity. Who was this man?

The man drew back his hood; dimly, Sakura could make out a large nose and large lips set in a very tanned face. "I'm Hirotoro Kado. On behalf of Lord Igarashi, I have come to deliver his message and to lead you to him, shinobi from Konoha."

-

**And that's the end of chapter three! Hope you enjoyed it! Finally, Team 7 manages to gain a lead on Igarashi, and no, he is not dead! Thank you to all of you who reviewed!**

**-Jackie**


	5. Chapter 4

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes. And maybe some sex later on.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY**: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke **never** left Konoha and **never** attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did **NOT** attack the Hokage Sarutobi with Orochimaru, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru **did** manage to kill the Sandaime, so **Tsunade is now Godaime**. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, Tenten and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story.

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!

-

**CHAPTER FOUR**

-

_Closer and closer they ran to the spark of chakra, weaving in and out of alleyways and sometimes making a detour to a rooftop. When they finally managed to reach the chakra source, a man stood in the alleyway, hands up in the air in front of him._

_"Please, I'm not your enemy," he said in a deeply accented voice._

_Sakura and Kakashi stopped a few feet from him, though they made no move to attack him. Sakura's head was swimming with curiosity. Who was this man?_

_The man drew back his hood; dimly, Sakura could make out a large nose and large lips set in a very tanned face. "I'm Hirotoro Kado. On behalf of Lord Igarashi, I have come to deliver his message and to lead you to him, shinobi from Konoha."_

_-_

Kakashi nodded towards Sakura, then reached forward to grasp Hirotoro Kado's weathered hand in greeting. "Would you like to accompany me back to our hotel, where we may talk privately?" the Konoha jounin offered. His shoulders were still tensed, and Sakura was slightly relieved that, despite his friendly greeting, Kakashi was still alert. If this "messenger" of Igarashi-san's so much as looked at him the wrong way he would be dead.

However, Hirotoro seemed to realize that, for he smiled. "There is no reason to be wary," he remarked lightly, reaching inside of his sleeve.

Sakura tensed. A kunai...?

But the man only drew out a tightly bound scroll. "From my master," he said, handing the scroll to Kakashi.She sensed Kakashi's chakra gently probing the scroll, checking for hidden traps or seals, before he took it from Hirotoro and stuffed it in his pocket in one swift movement. "We will discuss more in our rooms," he said again, and gestured for Sakura to lead the way back to the hotel through the streets. They had no way of knowing if Hirotoro was a shinobi, so going by rooftops, even though it was a much faster means of transportation, was completely out of the question.

With any luck, Sasuke and Naruto would still be asleep, tucked safely away in their bedrolls beside the one bed available. With them asleep, Kakashi and Sakura could probably get an answer out of Hirotoro much faster if he didn't have to answer all the irrelevant questions Naruto would throw at him or the skepticism coming from Sasuke. It was a good quality in shinobi to question and to not believe everything that is said, but Sasuke took it a little out of proportion; sometimes he didn't even trust other Leaf shinobi! Or, maybe that was just Sai.

Rounding the last corner before the hotel, Sakura glanced behind her; Hirotoro was ambling along, looking calm despite his watchful eyes in his weathered face that scanned the surrounding buildings for enemy shinobi. In that swift glance, she noticed that he did not look at her and Kakashi; they weren't his enemies, and that made Sakura believe that he was with Lord Igarashi. She felt hope lull in her chest before rooting there. If this man knew the whereabouts of Igarashi, then the people of Iwate stood a chance against Maeno Montaro.

Leaving Hirotoro and Kakashi behind, Sakura leapt up onto the wall of the hotel and climbed her way up to the room Team 7 resided in. She flipped herself up over the balcony quietly, crossed the floor, then carefully slid open the glass doors. Just as she sneaked past the doorway, two hands grabbed her and threw her against the wall, something sharp and cold pressing against her throat. Sakura stiffened; did intruders get to Sasuke and Naruto?

But then she made out Sasuke's sharingan in the dark; he noticed her just as she noticed him, for he released her a split second later and muttered a gruff apology. Sakura sighed in relief and peered outside, holding the door open until Kakashi and Hirotoro arrived. As soon as Hirotoro passed through the doorway, Sakura shut and securely bolted the door. Then she crossed the room in decisive strides and stood in front of the door to the outside corridor while Sasuke took a post close to the door leading to the balcony. Naruto merely let out a gigantic snore and continued to sleep, blissfully unaware to Hirotoro's presence. He wouldn't be happy when he woke up and found out that the whereabouts of Igarashi had been discovered while he drooled onto his pillow.

As Kakashi and Hirotoro seized each other up, Sakura wished for the second time that Shikamaru had accompanied them on the mission. His quick thinking really would have been quite useful. Even though Sakura was aware she was very intelligent, she was good with remembering factual information pertaining to countless missions and jutsus. But when it came to actually putting that knowledge into forming an attack plan or tying conclusions from it alone, Shikamaru was the best among the best. No, she didn't doubt her teammates' abilities, but it wouldn't hurt to have Shikamaru around. Though Naruto was like a younger, annoying brother that she loved and exasperated over, Shikamaru was a friend, and took what she said seriously. Sakura glanced over at Sasuke hopefully, and then angrily reprimanded herself. _Stop it_, she thought roughly, _Stop trying to get something from him. You'll get nothing, Sakura!_

The scraping of chairs against the drab wooden floor drew Sakura's attention back to the team leader and the supposed messenger of Lord Igarashi. Kakashi sat down heavily in the chair, gesturing that Hirotoro sit down as well, which he did. Only then did Kakashi, without taking his eyes off of Hirotoro's weathered face, reach into his pouch and take out the scroll.

Sakura waited impatiently with bated breath as Kakashi first glanced over at the rolled up scroll, checking again for any traps or seals on its pale surface. He slowly untied the string holding it together, then even more slowly spread the scroll out onto the table. She stood up on her tip toes to try and read the writing, but it was no good; she was too far away. Noticing her problem, Kakashi shot her a small smile, cleared his throat, and then read its contents out loud for her benefit.

"To the team from Konoha, I must thank you for your promptness in arriving here so quickly. I'm sure you understand my suspicions in not contacting you sooner; once I was absolutely sure you were the team that the Godaime Hokage sent, I debated how to get your attention without alerting the many guards Maeno has patrolling the neighboring cities to Iwate. Hirotoro Kado is one of my most trusted men, as he and his family have served my clan for many generations. I would only trust him to deliver this message, and if you are reading it now, then he would have succeeded. However, I will not disclose my location in this scroll, for it is too risky. In the morning if you permit it, Hirotoro-san will guide you to our base. We will discuss our options fully once you have arrived. I wish you the best of luck."

A moment of silence filled the air, before Hirotoro Kado smiled. "Igarashi-san and those loyal to him managed to escape Iwate before they were caught," he rasped, "They have taken refuge in the nearby mountains. However, I believe there are only about a hundred shinobi that work underneath Igarashi-san. The rest of his men were captured by Maeno last week. I hope, for their sake, that they are dead. It would be better for them if that were true."

Kakashi sighed wearily and threw the scroll into the fireplace, where it quickly ignited and then burned to an indiscernible crisp. "I see," he murmured, his lone gray eye unreadable. He said nothing more for a moment, obviously mulling over the new information the scroll had given him. Sakura impatiently shifted her weight from side to side; despite Igarashi's praise at their 'prompt' arrival, she felt like action needed to be taken immediately! They couldn't just stand around here waiting while innocent people suffered under Maeno's command! The mission had been rated S-class only due to the lack information on Maeno and the shinobi underneath him, but if it wasn't an S-class, at the very least it was a high A-class mission. Sakura's insides squirmed uncomfortably; this new information gave way to an elaborate conspiracy by Maeno and his government. They needed to be stopped, now, or she would scream her fury!

That was what she hated most of all. Not knowing what was to come. Sakura felt so unprepared for this mission, and not being prepared for something could mean death. Yeah, Team 7 had pulled themselves out of some pretty tight scrapes, but it was all luck, not skill. Restless, agitated, angry, and afraid of an unseen force, Sakura sighed and sat down beside her oblivious teammate. She was too wound up to be able to sleep, even though her rational mind knew she needed to sleep. Her body suddenly felt drained, weak and watery, like an old cup of tea. But her mind was racing, and sleep was forbidden.

Sasuke's voice made her look up. "Does Igarashi have a plan?" he asked Hirotoro bluntly, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned up against the door.

Hirotoro nodded. "Igarashi-san does have a plan to take the city from Maeno, but it would be better if he told you himself."

Silence filled the room once more, only broken sporadically by a snore from Naruto. Outside, the wind picked up, whipping against the walls of the hotel. Sakura swore that the entire foundation of the building began to sway in time. However, soon, she felt her body begin to calm down. At the small, makeshift table, Kakashi and Hirotoro talked in hushed tones, while Sasuke stared at them unblinkingly, his sharingan activated to read their lips. The soft murmur of Kakashi's voice had always managed to make her feel comfortable, and soon enough, Sakura was unable to keep her eyelids from closing.

She must have dozed, for when she next opened her eyes, Sasuke was still standing near the doors, though his back was towards her as he gazed outside at the lightening sky. His body wasn't stiff and alert, either, so Sakura could guess he was rather bored, sitting there with nothing to do but think. She glanced towards the table, but Kakashi must have offered Hirotoro a place to spend the night, for there were blankets spread out and a form lying still underneath them. As for her old sensei, she realized where he was when the bathroom light clicked off and the famous Copy Ninja stepped out into the cramped room, stretching his arms over his head and yawning haphazardly.

Kakashi glanced over at her, noticed she was awake, and then picked his way towards her, his steps careful and light as he tried to avoid waking Hirotoro and Naruto, though there wasn't much that could wake her blond teammate, save for the aroma of ramen or a blistering lecture from Sakura. Sasuke, turning his head as he heard Kakashi enter, only spared them a disinterested glance before he continued his search in the nearby alleyway, while the older shinobi sat down beside her and yawned again before turning towards her with a friendly smile.

"We'll head out in a few hours," he told her, gently ruffling her hair, "I know you've been itching to go, and to tell the truth, so have I. But this is the last kind of mission to rush things, no matter how on edge all of us are. We know hardly anything about our enemy except that in a coup they overthrew Igarashi's government, which is surprising, since all the people of Iwate respected him for his social programs. Maeno must have a formidable force if the villagers in Iwate have quieted down so much."

"Yeah, I know," Sakura sighed, rubbing her eyes and answering his yawn with one of her own. "Stop yawning, Kakashi, you're making me yawn."

He winked at her roguishly, and Sakura was taken aback slightly at his sudden playful behavior. Usually it was Kakashi who took the responsibility of being the squad leader of Team 7, only because it had _always_ been that way, and sometimes keeping things the same was good. Now, however, he must have deemed it safe enough to let go. At least while Sasuke kept a firm watch over the building, anyways.

Sakura shoved him playfully. "You old coot," she teased as he purposefully yawned again with the most innocent air he could manage, "You're trying to make me regret waking up?"

Kakashi snorted at her 'old coot' comment, then reached into his pouch and pulled out his Icha Icha book.

She leaned up against his shoulder to look at the pages inquisitively, then was greeted with a sight so unexpected she blushed heavily. "I can't believe you read those things!" she groaned in mortification, unable to get the image of not only one, but _two_ men pleasuring a beautiful, big breasted women like _that_! "You've scarred me for life, sensei!" But she was lying... that picture actually excited her... emotionally, physically, whatever, but it definitely peaked her curiosity about sex. If it was really that pleasurable...

Kakashi only laughed at her antics, a deep chuckle that resonated in his chest and shook his body. "You're seventeen, Sakura, not the innocent youngster you were at twelve! I think you can handle it. Besides, that young lad... Jomei's student, what was his name...? Ah, Akeno! Akeno flirted with you enough that it should be clear that he's interested in you! Do you want to borrow a copy of my Icha Icha? It's very educational-"

"Kakashi!" she cried, unable to believe that her old teacher was actually insinuating that she and Akeno would... have _sex_! And here she was, practically in love with Sasuke again, and she had never once _imagined_ them in such a position! Well, she had never voluntarily imagined something like that, but her treacherous mind would conjure up streamy dreams while she slept... and it didn't help that she was the only kunoichi on a team of well toned, very attractive men. She would be _blind_ not to notice their sexual appeal! Sakura groaned and hit her head with her hand as images of her shirtless teammates filled her head. "Kami, sensei! It's so weird to talk about stuff like this?"

"What, it's natural," he protested, though his cheeks spotted a bit of red color Sakura swore was a blush, "We're all adults now."

Sakura sighed and shook her head. "Adults don't usually have conversations like this!" she protested, but she was giggling despite herself. Knowing Akeno liked her sure had made her feel all nice and warm inside. She had forgotten about him and Jomei in the past couple of days, but now, she wanted to know what their mission had been about, so close to Konohagakure. Gaara probably had a reason for it, and Tsunade-sama of course knew about their presence, but Sakura couldn't help being a bit nosy. After all, being the "Apprentice to the Godaime Hokage" came with its perks; she was granted restricted access to almost all mission reports (except for ANBU, of course) and generally knew what was going on before Tsunade-sama passed the word on to the council.

Kakashi merely returned to reading his novel, already engrossed in its pages. Sakura couldn't help but sneak glances at the pictures that appeared every now and then, but she was slightly disappointed to find that the pictures were not as... graphic as the one she had seen. With a sigh, she leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. They still had a couple hours until daybreak, and she didn't want to sit around bored, so maybe it would be better to get as much sleep as possible... That's what Shikamaru would reason, if he were here.

She sighed again. Shikamaru... It was odd, for her to develop such strong friendships outside of her team, but the Rookie 9 and Team Gai was close. They had all been through so much together that the initial competition during the first of the Chuunin Exams had all but disappeared, leaving a strong foundation. Through the death of the Hokage, to the attack on the village... they had all learned to trust and depend on one another... not to mention the parties that were thrown when all of the Rookie 9 were in Konoha. Those were so much fun... They usually consisted of an all night blowout at Naruto's apartment, and many complaints from the neighbors slipped underneath the door the following morning. Usually Sakura stuck around in the morning after everyone began their hung-over voyage home to help the frantic blond clean up his apartment before he got kicked out of the building.

Then the image of Sasuke filled her mind, his dark hair and eyes invading her meditation. He was leaning down over her, his mouth gently touching the skin at the nape of her neck. She shuddered delightfully, the ghosting of his lips almost ticklish against her. He snaked one arm around her back to hold her close while he kissed, lipped and licked his way from her neck to her collarbone. She arched into his grasp, closing her eyes and humming her approval, but then the warmth of his mouth left her, and she opened her eyes to see-

Nothing. She had gotten carried away in a daydream, albeit a pleasant one. Blushing heavily as she realized she had just fantasized about doing _that_ with Sasuke, Sakura couldn't bear to look up from the floor and hoped that Kakashi had not noticed her strange behavior. Clearing her throat awkwardly, Sakura got to her feet with a mutter. "I'll be right back."

Quickly rounding the corner, she entered the tiny bathroom and slammed the door behind her. She walked over to the sink and glared into the dusty mirror at her face. "Kami, Sakura," she whispered, gripping the edge of the sink with white-knuckled hands as she stared into her own eyes, "Get a grip. You're on a _mission_." Then, with a glance at the softness of her eyes and the slight pout of her lips, she couldn't help but hope that sooner or later, someone would notice. Well, that's not true. Rock Lee, all those years ago, had been infatuated with her, and according to Kakashi, so had Akeno a couple of days ago when they had met. But why was Sasuke immune to her? Why couldn't he just notice her, and respect her abilities? Really, that's all she was asking!

Hearing a sudden commotion outside of the doorway to the bathroom, Sakura spun around on her heel and grabbed the shower curtain rod, lifting herself up out of the way as she listened intently. "Kami, my nerves are fried," she muttered bitterly, waiting for the door to swing open with an enemy shinobi at the foreground. Did Hirotoro Kado betray them? What was doing on?!

But as a few moments passed and she heard the grumbles of Naruto as Kakashi, no doubt, tried to wake her teammate up, she realized it probably was just the scraping of the chair against the floor.

Sakura lowered herself down and opened the door, shaking her head at her foolishness. In the few minutes she had moped in the bathroom, Hirotoro had picked up the blankets and draped them unceremoniously over the small, rotten bed in the corner of the room, Kakashi was pulling a sleepy Naruto to his feet, and Sasuke stood with his arms still crossed in front of his chest, dressed and completely ready to go. There it was, the hum in the air! Sakura clenched her fist, waiting for the excitement in her chest to die down. She couldn't afford to be too anxious to get to the bottom of this coup if it meant losing focus.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yawned, pushing Kakashi out of the way to drape himself on her.

"Gah, Naruto!" Sakura shrieked, trying to disentangle herself from him, but when Naruto wouldn't budge, she merely laughed and patted his head. "Get off of me, baka!"

Then Naruto's head snapped to the side as he suddenly became aware of Hirotoro. He flung himself towards his pack with a speed that surprised Sakura, grabbed his kunai, then raced towards Hirotoro and slung his kunai around his neck. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" he yelled angrily.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, "Let him go!"

Hirotoro chuckled. "I expected no less from a Leaf shinobi. I am Hirotoro Kado, Lord Igarashi's assistant and messenger."

"Oh," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "Gomen, Hirotoro!"

Sasuke raised one eyebrow at their antics, then turned away with a snort. Sakura shook her head at his reaction, rebuked by his sneer. She shook Naruto off of her and then donned her boots, strapping her shuriken holster around her thigh and then her kunai pouch at the small of her back. Throwing her pack around her shoulders, she sat down on the rickety table to wait for Naruto to finish getting dressed. Hirotoro donned his cloak as he spoke to Kakashi quietly, probably outlining the direction they would be heading in.

Sakura swung her legs up and down.

Sasuke still refused to look over at her, instead busying himself with retying the supports on his wrists.

She sighed loudly.

He didn't look up.

She yawned.

Nothing.

Sakura clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, waiting in amusement to get some reaction from him. Later, she probably would think of how childish it was, almost begging attention from him in this way, but really, she was desperate for any reaction to show he was aware of what she was doing.

"Sakura," Sasuke said tersely, turning his head to glare at her, "Stop it."

Inwardly, she smirked. _Finally._

"Alright," Kakashi called out to them from the center of the overcrowded hotel room, "We'll head out in five minutes. Double check to make sure you didn't leave anything lying around, because I want our tracks completely clear. Make sure you have all of your shuriken and all of your kunai ready, and be armed. We don't know what to expect as Hirotoro-san leads us to our goal."

The three teenagers nodded and did as Kakashi asked, and then when the dirty, tiny hotel room was immaculate, Kakashi opened the balcony door to the room and, masking his chakra, jumped out into the street. Hirotoro followed their team leader, then Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke formed the rear guard.

Sakura leapt behind Naruto and Sasuke over the rooftops, trying to avoid the morning hustle and bustle of the streets. It surprised her that Hirotoro was moving quite easily across the buildings, but then again, being a messenger of Igarashi, he must have had some kind of formal training in shinobi skills. She hadn't seen any hint of what he knew, but it was the ease in which he travelled that led her to believe he was at least a jounin.

The city gates were drawing very close; Sakura could see the desert coming into focus already and groaned her displeasure. She had had enough of the desert already, and even though she knew she would be spending much more time out in that unforgiving wilderness, she still couldn't help but wish she was back in Konohakagure, where the sun was hot but at least there was an abundance of rivers, ponds, trees and shade.

Sakura's eyes followed Sasuke as he leapt across with Naruto. She could tell that he was tense; his hands were curled into fists and his shoulder muscles were contracted. She could also sense a small thread of his chakra searching the village for any other chakra signature, as well as the chakra trace around his head. He must have his Sharingan activated.

She sighed and looked away. _What is it going to take to get him to recognize me as a shinobi _and_ as a woman?_ she thought sadly. But her thoughts were confused; she had to put the mission first, she knew that. But with Sasuke around, she was distracted by her attraction to him. Not to mention the _physical_ attraction she had to him. The things he did to her last night... what she imagined, anyway, made her body tingle and a small pool of molten lava uncurl in her stomach. Her body ached for something, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what she wanted... no, she knew. She _wanted_ his arms around her, pressing her against him as tightly as she could. She wanted his mouth to kiss her in the places the Icha Icha character had kissed his lover, and she wanted to feel his-

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out, "Do you have any food?"

Sakura's head snapped up to glare at Naruto, furious for his interruption. "Why?" she growled, "You already ate your protein bar!"

The blond pouted, and Sakura's anger faded away slightly at his sad expression. "Here," she sighed, reaching into her pouch and tossing the small package at him.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan!" he said, falling back slightly to run with her.

Sighing, Sakura resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't be having any more delightful daydreams about Sasuke for the time being and instead turned to talk to Naruto as he munched away happily on the protein bar. _I'm sexually frustrated_, she thought, and then chuckled at the situation, _And it's all Kakashi's fault._

-

After three hours of traveling over the desert, the peaks of the mountains Hirotoro had described began to come into focus. Sakura glanced around at her teammates, chuckling lightly at Naruto's disheveled, sweaty appearance and silently envying Kakashi's stamina, for the long hike didn't affect him at all. Sasuke, too, was relatively unruffled, though his cheeks were red and blotchy from the harsh sun. And, if she was correct from the way her arms had begun to ache, Sakura had gotten a bad sunburn.

Wincing as she gingerly pulled off her shirt that lay over her mesh top, Sakura inspected her shoulder with gentle fingertips. Wherever she pressed her finger against her red, raw skin, it burned like it was one fire, and not for the first time, she cursed the desert sun.

Kakashi pulled up beside her, then groaned sympathetically. "Looks like you got burned pretty badly," he said lightly, his lone eye creasing in a teasing smile.

Sakura glared at him. "Yeah, thanks," she said sarcastically, wondering why everything had to go wrong. Almost nothing had gone right on this mission; it was by chance that Igarashi had requested Hirotoro to find them, and as of right now, finding Maeno Montaro seemed thousands of years away to Sakura.

"Here," her ex-sensei said gently, sliding some lotion into her hands that he must have brought with him, "This will help."

Sakura suddenly regretted her behavior towards him. "Thank you," she murmured gratefully, taking some of the salve from his hands and rubbing it gently into her shoulders as he helped spread it over the back of her neck.

"That should keep it from burning anymore, but tonight will be painful." He gave her a gentle pat on her head, and then returned to Hirotoro's side as the man beckoned him forward. Snapping to attention, Sakura stopped and watched as Hirotoro seemingly touched an ordinary boulder on a small, sloping hill of sand. With a loud groan, the boulder swung to the right, revealing a very dark, small entrance. She stepped closer, intrigued, peering into the small hole. From what she could make out, there was a small tunnel that lead directly toward the mountains.

"We're here," Kakashi announced, turning towards them. Handing his pack to Sasuke, he closed his eyes and ran his hands through a series of seals. _"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_ Around the five appeared exact copies of them. Sakura stared into her own face, then giggled when it winked at her. It matched her completely, from the uneven strands of pink locks on the right side of her head to the nasty sunburn on her shoulders and upper arms. "These should serve as distractions enough."

Sakura followed Kakashi carefully through the tunnel, gripping onto the back of his jounin vest as her eyes slowly became accustomed to the dark. Naruto gripped her right hand as she led him through, and vaguely she could hear the faint scuffing of Sasuke's sandals as he followed the blond. Hirotoro Kado led the way. It was a wonder that they didn't bump into any walls, seeing as once the boulder closed off the entrance to the tunnel behind them, there was absolutely no light. But then again, they weren't shinobi for nothing, and using chakra to feel around the walls before she reached them, Sakura was able to relinquish her grip on Kakashi and could walk unaided.

To Sakura, the journey through the tunnel must have lasted hours. Finally alone with her thoughts, all she could think about were images of her and Sasuke, tangled together in passion. Not to mention the fact that when Naruto fell behind to frantically search for his frog purse that he dropped, Sasuke took his place right behind her. She felt his eyes on her in the dark, but she couldn't be sure he was looking at her in the dark and not concentrating on avoiding any hanging rocks.

_I have it bad,_ she thought dejectedly, very aware of his strong, masculine presence behind her. But her daydreams were just fantasies; she had never seen Sasuke without a shirt on, so she had no idea what his chest would look like other than its general shape. He wasn't broad chested like Naruto and Kakashi were, but he wasn't skinny, either. He was... just right. He was wiry and muscular, in very fit condition. All shinobi had to be if they wanted to survive out in the wilderness, where it was hunt or be hunted.

She was a teenager, and she could blame her hormones for her sexual...desires. But it wasn't easy, when he was _right_ behind her. But just then, her foot hit against a crevice in the tunnel floor that she had been too distracted to notice, and she went flying forward with a cry of surprise. Just as she prepared herself to land rather awkwardly on the ground, a strong hand grabbed the crook of her arm and yanked her back roughly. She was caught between Sasuke's arm and his chest, her back pressed up against him.

"Be more careful," he sighed, releasing her after two long, slow seconds.

Sakura, her face burning in shame and embarrassment, thanked Kami that it was too dark for him to see her blush. She was a shinobi, for Kami's sake! But then again, even shinobi were prone to moments of klutziness. Then, a small glow of light filtered down through the tunnel; Sakura blinked rapidly as her eyes burned and watered. And standing at the end of the tunnel was the silhouette of three men, two large ones on either side of a stately, shorter one.

Igarashi Benjiro.

He was about mid fifties due to the amount of gray in his hair and undeniably attractive for an older man, with a strong jaw framed by a trimmed, well kept beard and long brown and gray hair held back by a leather band. His eyes were warm and brown, set deeply in a smooth face. The robe he wore was ornate in the designs on the cuffs and hems, a deep burgundy that drew attention, and underneath that lay a silk cream shirt. A couple of the buttons were undone at the tap, and the wrinkles in his robe told Sakura that he must have been awake and about for awhile. Even his two bodyguards were dressed well, though beneath the silk brocades and robes, she knew they were deadly.

Hirotoro nodded towards the group, then went to stand by Igarashi's side. The Lord glanced at them, then smiled warmly. "Welcome," he said, his voice deep, almost as deep as Jomei's had been, but much less raspy. "I thank you for coming so quickly. I know that usually the hidden villages don't involve their shinobi in petty disputes over cities, but I'm afraid this is more than that. I do not care about running the government myself. I just want a government who would do right by the people."

His voice was so compelling that Sakura immediately had to agree with Kakashi's assessment of Igarashi Benjiro; no one can help but respect him on first sight. He was a man familiar with speaking, apparent due to his eloquent word choice and the sincerity of his tone, and Sakura was swayed by him already.

Her two teammates, however, were less than impressed, and only watched Igarashi in disinterest. Sakura couldn't understand why they wouldn't be all over this stately man right now, but then again, they were probably just tired, hungry, and bored after the exhausting journey across the desert.

"Igarashi-san," she vaguely heard Kakashi greet as she glanced over at Sasuke. He was staring down at the ground as he scuffed his sandal against a rock, pushing it from side to side. His hands were shoved deep in the pockets of his pants, and the dust and sand from the desert gave his clothing and hair a gray sheen. He looked so utterly bored as he glanced at Naruto, obviously hoping to bait his teammate into yelling at him so he'd have something to do.

Sakura rolled her eyes at his behavior. Here they were, _finally_, with Igarashi, and Sasuke could only think about fighting and Naruto, most likely, was dreaming about ramen.

"I know you all must be tired," Igarashi said kindly, his hand on Kakashi's shoulder, "Let's head up to the camp and then I'll have Hirotoro show you where you can stay. We'll discuss more in the morning, once everyone is ready."

When Team 7 followed Igarashi, Hirotoro and his two shinobi guards out of the tunnel, Sakura was surprised to see that the sun had already set. They must've been inside that tunnel for a good three hours, seeing as they reached it close to two o'clock in the afternoon. But she forgot; the sun sets early in the desert. As Igarashi bit them goodnight, Hirotoro then let them through the cave to another opening a couple feet down from the rock cliff. Inside, food and water had been laid out next to a crackling fire that spread warmth through the cold chamber. He too said goodnight, then went to rejoin Igarashi.

The ache in her muscles came back, as well as the pain in her shoulders from the sunburn she received as she walked into the cave chamber with her teammates. Sakura was suddenly so tired that, after ducking around a suddenly rambunctious Naruto who made a beeline straight for the food, she skipped dinner, slipped inside of her bedroll, and was asleep in minutes.

-

When Sakura awoke, the fire had been doused and three sleeping bundles lay curled around their tent. Squinting slightly in the darkness, Sakura searched for Sasuke's dark hair, and when she spotted him, was surprised to see that his eyes were open and fixated on her face. The flash of red of the Sharingan gave her a jolt! Sakura gasped quietly, but his eyes didn't move off of her face. "S-Sasuke?" she called out softly, wondering why he would be looking at her like that. Was there something on her face? Was she drooling on her pillow, and he found it so disgusting and repulsive that he couldn't look away?

He didn't respond for several moments. Finally, he murmured, "Go to sleep...Sakura." Then, with a rustling and shifting of blankets, he rolled over to face the opposite direction.

Sakura frowned, dissatisfied with his answer. She realized she would probably never get more out of him about his on and off morose behavior swings, but then again, it was Sasuke. He had always been that way, and who was she to tell him to change that particular aspect about his personality? With a sigh, Sakura rolled over onto her back, wincing when a stone jutting out from the ground lodged itself between her shoulder blades and rubbed against her raw shoulders. She closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep again, if only to quiet her thoughts.

Tomorrow would be a new day. But at least they had established contact with Lord Igarashi, even if their information was still somewhat limited. Sakura was relieved that they had found the Lord, at the very least, alive and well in the security of his own men. Hopefully, with a bit of luck from Kami, they'd find Maeno Montaro and get vengeance for the deaths of so many innocent people. His reign, however short, would be brought down.

And with that comforting thought, Sakura slipped back into unconsciousness, oblivious to the fact that her dark-haired teammate would lie awake all night.

-

**Sorry this took so long! I've been really busy with end of the year projects and the piles of homework we got from our teachers, and this was a very long, time consuming chapter. Again, it was a transitional chapter, but at least Igarashi made an appearance!**

**So from here on out, there will be a LOT of action, which I hope you guys will enjoy! This is where the mission REALLY begins. R&R!**

**-Jackie**


	6. Chapter 5

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes. And maybe some sex later on.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY**: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke **never** left Konoha and **never** attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did **NOT** attack the Hokage Sarutobi with Orochimaru, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru **did** manage to kill the Sandaime, so **Tsunade is now Godaime**. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, Tenten and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story.

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!

-

**CHAPTER FIVE**

-

That morning, Sakura awoke bright and early, well rested from her long, almost uninterrupted night of sleep. For once the heat didn't bother her as she ran through sets of stretches and drills outside in the warm morning air. It was partly due to the excitement burning in her chest, and also the fact that Naruto, that conniving little teammate of hers, had been quick enough to snatch Kakashi's Icha Icha book out of his hands just as she woke up and take off with it tucked securely away underneath his arm. Kakashi had managed to get it back within the minute, but still, Naruto had just achieved something great; stealing something _precious_ from Kakashi when no one else had dared or been able to before.

Even _that_ had earned a small smile from Sasuke.

She had to smile at that. Maybe, just maybe, this mission would be good for him. This was one of their first missions in a long time where they were forced to spend time in each others company for hours on end. Back at Konoha, Sasuke would only show up at training, kick Naruto's ass a couple of times, and then retreat back to the Uchiha mansion to do Kami knew what. At least here he was stuck near them, and maybe, just maybe, Sakura could use that to her advantage. _Side mission,_ she thought, _Break Uchiha Sasuke._ Then she giggled. _Not to mention coerce him into noticing me_.

But then she stopped. _I want him to notice me for my skills, not for my body!_

Sakura blushed at the thought.

_Maybe both? Hey, he could respect me and still think I am beautiful!_

And with that, Sakura doubled the number of drills outside with her kunai, her muscles twisting and burning, but it felt good. After the drills were done, she shrugged off her shirt, sweating, and tightened her sandals on her feet. Then she started off on a light jog up the mountain side, only slightly reinforcing her sandals with chakra, just so she could keep her balance on the sliding rocks and gravel that rolled out from underneath her weight. She raced to the summit in record time, the sweat running down her back and face in rivulets. Belatedly, she hoped that there was a nearby oasis she could bathe in, or she'd be stuck sticky and smelly for the rest of the day.

But she needed this training. The almost physical torture helped to take her mind off of Sasuke and the mission for at least a couple minutes, and it felt good to stretch her legs again without having to worry about pacing herself for a long journey. In the days that she had been gone, she hadn't had much training. Sure, she had fought in the alley in the nearby village, but that didn't count. She had been fighting for her life, not fighting against her own body to grow stronger.

When she reached the peak of one of the smaller mountains jutting out from the much larger chain, Sakura was surprised to see Sasuke already there, sitting on the ground and reaching towards his foot with his arm, stretching the back of his calf muscle. When he became aware of her presence, he glanced up and held her gaze for a few long moments.

Sakura stood there awkwardly, and it took a while before she found her voice and murmured, "Sorry Sasuke, I didn't know you would be up here."

He regarded her quietly for a moment, and then shook his head, a slight smirk stretching his lips. "Don't be. If you want, we can spar."

She about had a heart attack. _Sasuke offering to spar with me is _some _kind of recognition! If he didn't think I was strong enough, he would not have wanted to waste the time on me!_ Some of her excitement must have showed, because he frowned and added, "I won't go easy on you, Sakura."

The way he said her name made her shiver, though she blamed it on the sweat cooling on her back due to the cooler air at this altitude. "I don't want you to go easy on me," Sakura countered, "Don't hold back."

Sasuke nodded and pulled himself to his feet. Dusting off his shorts, he approached her, stopping when he was about fifteen feet away. Sakura watched him intently and at the first flash of red in his eyes, she lowered her gaze and fixed her eyes on his hands hands. _One sign_, she thought, waiting for him to attack her first. Crouching down slightly, Sakura crossed her left arm across her chest and withdrew a kunai, knowing his sharp eyes would immediately spot that. Her hidden weapon was the slight amount of chakra that had been reassigned to the soles of her feet and hands. He wouldn't be able to spot that small trace of chakra even with the Sharingan if he was too busy concentrating on the kunai, and even though it wouldn't give her much power, Sakura wanted to use all of her abilities that she could to gain a slight edge on her teammate.

In the blink of an eye, Sasuke appeared behind her and swung at her with his fist. Sakura quickly dodged it and kicked out her leg, but she wasn't aiming for Sasuke like he had predicted. When he lunged to the right to avoid her leg, Sakura had already changed direction and slammed her foot into the ground. If Sasuke wasn't such a strong shinobi, he would have fallen on the impact of the earth. Instead, he only flew back a couple of feet.

She stood up straight, already waiting for his next move. They were both panting, the heat of the sun and the previous drills and exercises taking their toll on bodies not suited for a desert environment. Sakura flexed her arm, waiting for Sasuke to attack again. Her secret was out with the chakra, so she didn't hesitate to send more chakra to her limbs to strengthen her already super strong hits.

Sasuke smirked. "You're too predictable," he said, before appearing behind her again, trying to startle her.

She swung at him and missed. "So are you!" she yelled back, blocking the hit he sent in return with her forearm. A sudden line of pain drew across it, and Sakura jumped back in surprise. He had a senbon! A long, thin scratch ran across her arm, bleeding freely. In mere moments, her chakra had already healed the scratch.

Sakura scowled; she had to get him, but how? Then it hit her, the only jutsu that had worked on Neji might be able to work on the Uchiha heir as well!

Throwing a kunai at Sasuke, Sakura was able to buy just enough time to reach into her pouch, withdraw a handful of senbon, then infused them with her chakra. "Take that!" she screamed, then aimed all fifteen at her teammate. She saw Sasuke's eyes widen in shock in the split second before the senbon would have impacted his body. But then Sasuke disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and Sakura cursed her bad luck. She _almost_ had him! Since the senbon were infused with her chakra, she would have been able to temporarily paralyze Sasuke's body. Medic-nin, afterall, did have an impressive arsenal of skills on manipulation of the human body.

One of the last lesson's Tsunade had ever taught her, besides the infamous Genesis Rebirth Jutsu, was how to use her chakra like a sharp edge of a weapon. In theory, the chakra would be able to sever through bones and arteries from a good distance away from the enemy. However, Sasuke was a teammate, and Sakura could _never_ use this on any of her fellow Konoha shinobi. So instead, taking a leaf out of Shikamaru's book, Sakura withdrew the chakra from the senbon stuck haphazardly in the sand and waited for Sasuke, eyes closed but body ready.

Sakura felt his chakra signature near hers slowly. He was wary of her, since she made no move to attack him. She waited, her heart hammering in her chest. She hoped this worked... Just as Sasuke landed a hit on her shoulder with his hand, Sakura allowed her chakra to concentrate and flow over and through her shoulder. Her chakra seeped through her skin and into his, effectively numbing his entire arm. He was her teammate; though she was capable of permanent paralysis, she only temporarily numbed his arm.

Sasuke jumped back a few feet, face incredulous. "You can use raw chakra like that?" he demanded, rubbing his arm.

She nodded and shrugged. "Tsunade-sama taught it to me. It acts as a defense and offense, but it absorbs a lot of chakra."

"Can you teach me?" His eyes, for once, held some expression that Sakura couldn't quite identify, but his voice held enough traces of pleading to assuage her. Inside, she was jumping up and down over her victory; even with the Sharingan, Sasuke had not seen what she was doing. The chakra flow in her body hadn't been redirected, it was just there, so the slight movement of the buildup in her shoulder would not have been really important. She had proved her skills to him today!

Outwardly, Sakura was calm. "Alright," she teased, "But no using it on me!"

Sasuke scoffed. "You used it on me!" He flexed his arm, trying to regain the feeling. "Can you undo this?"

"Sure. C'mere." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. He walked closer to her until they were inches apart and held out the offending arm right in her face. Sakura turned bright red and avoided looking at his face, instead trying to focus her chakra through her arm. By using the chakra to heal, she was able to sooth all of the muscle cells in this arm. "Careful, this might tingle." He was so close to her that she itched to reach out, wrap her arms around him, bury her face in his shoulder. She remembered how he had clenched her to him in the town that Maeno burned, but it wasn't an embrace. Sasuke had only grabbed her to steady himself and make sure she wasn't in the way if there were shinobi's waiting in ambush... but oh, how she wished that he had done it some other time, in some other way...

"Sakura, your face is red. Are you getting a sunburn?" Sasuke asked when she was done 'fixing' his arm, though he was smirking.

Her head snapped up to glare at him. "Thanks, Sasuke," she said sarcastically. He knew she was blushing. He knew she was affected by his presence.

His eyes suddenly roamed over her body, taking in all of her appearance; from the uneven strands of pink hair tucked away behind her left ear to the pale freckles that dotted the bridge of her nose to the swell of her breasts, her toned stomach, and down over her rounded hips to her feet and then back up. She sucked in a breath, unsure over his intentions. But when Sasuke's eyes reached hers once more, he looked confused.

"Sakura..." he began quietly, "I'm-"

But whatever he was about to say was cut off when Naruto came stumbling up the mountain, shouting, "SAKURA-CHAN! SASUKE-TEME, WHERE ARE YOU?!" at the top of his lungs. Naruto had just sucked in a huge breath of air, readying himself to scream it again, but Sasuke beat him to it and hit the poor blond in the side of his face with his punch."Naruto, you dobe!" Sasuke shouted angrily, the black strands of hair falling into his eyes as he stalked over to where Naruto lay in a tangle of limbs to stand over him, "What are you doing?!"

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at the way Naruto cowered underneath the Uchiha's heavy glare. "But teme!" he yelled back, "Kakashi sensei wanted me to come and get you two! Igarashi-san is going to update us on the mission! Don't be pissed at me, you bastard!" And with that, the blond launched himself at the dark haired teen. Both went sprawling to the ground, twisting and turning to try and punch the other.

She couldn't help but feel disappointed, though. Whatever Sasuke had been about to say was important, that she knew... Sakura shook her head and left her teammates sprawled out on the mountain cliff, making her way down the mountain alone. Just when she thought she may have been making progress with Sasuke, it was interrupted... Like the saying, 'for one step forward, there are two steps back.' She reached the mouth of the cave about ten minutes later with Naruto and Sasuke, still arguing, following closely on her heels. Together they entered the cave and, crossing the large space filled with tents and campfires for the men, women and children, entered the largest tent belonging to Igarashi. They were met inside by Kakashi, who, taking in their grimy appearance, could only shake his head in exasperation.

"Come on, you three," the Copy Ninja said, leading them into the larger section of the tent where Igarashi was waiting, seated at a long table. On the table was an assortment of pastries and bread for breakfast, as well as three jugs of exotic juices and a pitcher of water. He greeted them and motioned with a calloused hand for them to sit down, and Team 7 did, then waved over Hirotoro Kado, who was carrying a large map in his hands. He unfolded it and then held it up in front of them, tacking it to the rock. Naruto gasped and half rose out of his seat, eyes glued to the parchment.

Sakura peered at it curiously; the map was the entire layout of Iwate, from the financial districts to the tourist attractions and even street upon street of office buildings, apartments, and theaters. A large river ran right through the center of the city, and surrounding it were various ports and harbors that led directly to the Western and Eastern gates of the cities. A large building in the center of Iwate proved to be the government building. Bingo. That was where Maeno Montaro was. She felt adrenaline course through her veins. If they could reach him, wipe him out... but they could not rush on in blind, they would need a plan, and they would need to know how many men Maeno had in his control... She wished Sai had been invited on this mission; he was a great asset for espionage and infiltration missions such as this with his undetectable ink animals.

Igarashi Benjiro allowed them to inspect the map for a few moments in silence. "This is the blueprint and layout of the entire city of Iwate. Although the interiors of the buildings are not very detailed, I have in my possession maps of both the financial buildings and of the government building if you require them. And now, to get down to what you've come here to do. However, our archives on Maeno Montaro are extremely limited. He moved to the city nearly... three years ago with a guild of merchants, and to this day, we still don't know much about his past or origins. The guild said they came from Wave Country with Maeno, but I suspect otherwise."

"Did he have any bodyguards with him?" Kakashi asked curiously when Igarashi took a breath.

"Yes, but that is not unusual in Iwate. After all, Hirotoro, while also my advisor and friend, was the bodyguard assigned to me many years ago. In Iwate, usually the upper class and the merchants hire them to protect themselves. Although Iwate doesn't have a high crime rate itself, there are many _secret_ missions sent by the main shinobi villages to meddle around or to kill a merchant here and there. However, since we only can speculate about the assassinations and their origins, we are unable to keep it at bay. But since Maeno first came to the city, the attack rate has doubled. The civilians only see accidents, a trip down a flight of stairs. But to any trained shinobi, those were no accidents, they were assassinations, and pointed to very skilled killers. Then one night, three months ago, I was awoken by Hirotoro and together we fled Iwate when Maeno and his shinobi overtook the government building." Igarashi stopped and sighed, then gestured around the cave, "These are all of my men who managed to escape in time."

Sakura glanced around the cave. There were maybe less than a hundred individuals, not counting the housewives and children, and none of them seemed fit to be shinobi. With a pang, Sakura realized that they were mostly civilians, new to this kind of lifestyle. Many looked haggard and gaunt, and Sakura knew the reason behind Igarashi's plea for help. It wasn't for himself... he was worried for his people.

"For weeks now Maeno and his government has plagued Iwate. From what my sources are telling me, the tax laws have been raised enormously, and those who can't pay them have been jailed. They've imposed a curfew on the city, restricted all business affairs outside of Wind Country, and have locked the gates. The only way out of the city is to gain a pass from Maeno himself, and he hasn't given any. Twelve men and women have been murdered already for protesting the curfew, including a little boy. Maeno must be stopped; Iwate is suffering, and I cannot hide in the hills forever waiting for an opportunity."

Sakura looked at Naruto. _They killed a boy..._ Her teammate reached over and grasped her hand with his, though his blue eyes, locked on Igarashi, were hard and icy. Maeno had to be brought down, that was for sure. But Iwate, from what both Tsunade and Igarashi had told them, was very large. Making it to the government building might be difficult, especially if all the gates were locked. Not to mention if Sound was really involved... then this would become a stronghold base for Sound to attack Konoha and Suna!

Kakashi stood up and bowed to Igarashi. Hurriedly, Team 7 also stood and copied his movements. "Igarashi-san," their teacher said, "We will do everything in our power to take Maeno out of Iwate. But we would also welcome any help we can get. If any of your men were willing to join us, we could help train them just enough to be able to hold their ground. Also, our suspicions that Sound is involved in Iwate have been proved correct. Two of my team were attacked by Sound shinobi in the village yesterday, the day before Hirotoro Kado sought us out."

"That does prove a problem..." Igarashi got to his feet and bowed back. "My thanks, Hatake Kakashi. For now, I am afraid, all I can offer you is food and a place to stay. Later on this evening we will discuss any plans possible to turn Maeno Montaro out of power. For now, you and your students may do whatever you feel necessary to prepare yourselves. I won't lie to you; I expect Maeno Montaro to be surrounded by very powerful individuals, if you say he is involved in Sound. This fight will not be easy."

Kakashi inclined his head. "Arigato, Igarashi-san. Might we see the maps of the financial and government offices?" Then he turned to them. "C'mon you three."

When the Copy Ninja was given the maps, he led Sakura and Naruto and Sasuke over to where they had slept the previous night. Stoking the dying fire gently, he handed each of them a map. Sakura took hers, feeling the worn parchment underneath her fingers. She unrolled it and gazed down at the government building's layout. "There's an inner wall around the building," she said quietly to Sasuke, pointing it out, "That really complicates things. The controls are probably inside it too." He leaned closer to her to peer down at it, and Sakura's breath caught in her throat when his shoulder accidentally touched hers.

"Where is the tower to deactivate the controls?" Sasuke asked, his tanned index finger tracing the outline of the large wall.

Sakura couldn't help the small tingle that raced up her spine. If his finger touched her like that... Then she shook her head. _Stop it, Sakura! _As inconspicuously as she could, she released her hold on the map and allowed Sasuke to take it and inched away from him. His presence affected her _too_ much, and Sakura did not want Sasuke to know it.

Kakashi knelt down beside them, one large hand on Sakura's shoulder to steady himself. Sakura smiled up at her teacher as Sasuke pointed out to him what she had shown him. "There is no way we could scale that wall without the controls being turned off. According to the key in the corner, those dotted marks around the wall mean that there is an anti-chakra coating on it. No shinobi could climb it."

Their ex-sensei frowned. "That does prove difficult. We'll have to find some way around it... An espionage team could take it out..."

"But Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, "We aren't the best at espionage, and I doubt that a four-man squad alone could secure that entire building. If we separated, then possibly it could be done, but that would leave us spread to thin. Maybe we can call that ANBU group to come help us break in! Tsunade-sama said she would keep it behind for us!"

From across the cave, Naruto snorted, head buried in his map of the financial district. "We don't need ANBU!" he laughed, "They're a bunch of snot-nosed Hyuugas!"

"Naruto!" Sakura admonished, shocked at his words, "Not all Hyuugas are bad you know! Neji and Hinata are so different from their family!"

Beside her, Sasuke stiffened. "Hinata may be alright, but Neji is a Hyuuga, through and through," the Uchiha growled, crossing his arms over his chest and glowering at the dirt floor, "He's arrogant and overconfident, and he's only a jounin because he's a Hyuuga."

Sakura snarled at him as well, "Neji is not a bad person! Yeah, he's overconfident and arrogant to _you two_, but when you really get to know him, he's very funny and has a great personality." She didn't quite know why this argument over the Hyuuga Clan had suddenly surfaced, but for Sasuke and his Uchiha Clan, the feud between them had lasted many years. But then she shook her head; they couldn't afford this distraction!

Kakashi stood and began to form the seals for his Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Pakkun suddenly appeared on the cave floor in front of them, scratching the back of his pug ear. "Yes?" he asked irritably.

The older shinobi only sighed at the pug's tone of voice. "I need you to contact Tsunade-sama," he explained, "We'll be needing any back-up she can provide us. Remind her of the Teleportation Jutsu I also left for their use. When they land in Wind Country, I will need you to guide them here."

Pakkun yawned and nodded once, then with a _poof_, disappeared.

Naruto frowned up at Kakashi. "What was his problem?" he asked curiously, "Usually he's not that pissed off."

Kakashi only laughed. "Ignore Pakkun. He was probably only sleeping at my apartment. He hates being woken up for missions, but he's the smartest of my Ninken dogs."

Sakura looked around the cave after silence fell over them again; Sasuke had taken over the map she had been studying, and Naruto was nearly sitting on the one of the financial buildings while he rummaged through his pack for food. Sakura was positive the map of the financial buildings would not be useful on their future assault of Maeno, so instead she stood up, walked to the mouth of the cave and gazed across the horizon. Having the ANBU team provide backup would make their job much more easier. The ANBU were a specially trained squadron used for assassinations and espionage missions, so this would be a walk in the park for them. Not for the first time, Sakura realized how far she had yet to go in her career as a shinobi if she wanted to make it into ANBU. She was a great shinobi, but she lacked the large chakra reserves that would make her formidable.

Sighing, she sat down on a boulder and wrapped her arms around her legs. She wasn't sure why all of a sudden she was so upset, but she blamed it on Sasuke. This entire mission seemed at times to be doable, but right now, she doubted her abilities. Except for Shikamaru and Tsunade-sama, no one had complimented her skills much before.

This stupid mission was taking her on an emotional roller coaster. She lost all control of her thoughts and emotions... And right now she wished that the mission was over so she could return to Konoha and hide in the safety net that her friends outside of Team 7 offered her. Sure, she liked Sasuke wherever she went, but in Konoha she was not vulnerable.

Closing her eyes, Sakura leaned her head against her knees and allowed her chakra to flow within her body and out of it in an attempt to sooth herself. But when she did, out of her misery she felt a massive trace of chakra in the distance. Her head snapping up, her emerald eyes focused in on the horde of shinobi quickly heading their way.

She jumped to her feet and raced back into the cave. "KAKASHI-SENSEI!" she roared, "WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!" The guards posted above her cried their warning as well.

But her sensei had already felt the threat; the women and children were being ushered into the back of the caves, hopefully to an exit or a place to hide in the deep tangle of catacombs and tunnels. Naruto was standing beside her a second later, tying his hitai-ate around his forehead.

"You ready, Sakura-chan?" he asked her, a wicked gleam in his eye. He longed for the battle, something that Sakura had always thought of as a bloodlust. But Naruto enjoyed the adrenaline that battle brought.

"Hai." Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and gathered her chakra. She had depleted almost a quarter of it from the sparring with Sasuke and then moments before when she allowed it to flow unrestrained. But it would have to do. Besides, her kunai and senbon would come in handy. Slipping her hand into her pouch, she withdrew three senbon and fixed them in her fist.

Igarashi entered the cave, his two bodyguards from before close to his heels. Gone was the burgundy robe and instead, Igarashi wore a chuunin's vest and standard pants. Around his head was a Suna hitai-ate. Wrist guards covered black gloves, and on his feet were boots. Tucked safely away in a boot, Sakura noticed, was a small blade. From the markings on the hilt, she recognized a special chakra blade, just like her prized senbon were.

Team 7, Igarashi and his two bodyguards, as well as five other men, civilians from the looks of it, stood in front of the mess of caves. The guards had abandoned their posts to join them, but the odds were still not in their favor. Sixteen against a mass of thirty enemy shinobi was suicide, even if all the men were jounin rank or higher.

Her breath caught in her throat as the shinobi made their presence known. The enemy stood in front of them; Sakura spotted their hitai-ates and grimaced in distaste as she double-checked their allegiance. Sound, and they weren't even trying to hide it. So Tsunade-sama's suspicions were correct. Orochimaru _was_ involved in this. She surveyed the group critically; most appeared to be chuunin level or higher, due to the variety of weapons and the strength each individual chakra signature was emitting. One shinobi carried a large, one bladed scythe that instantly made Sakura wary. It was most likely covered in a poisonous substance from the sticky gleam that the midday sun cast over it

For a moment, all simply looked at the opposing party. Sakura frowned when she caught the incredulous looks that the group of men shot at her; they thought her weak! Grimly, she grinned wickedly. She would teach them.

Then, in a blur too fast to see for most civilians, the Sound shinobi leapt at them, hoping to catch them off guard. One of Igarashi's men fell with the first swipe of the enemy's kunai, rolling to the ground and clutching his bleeding wound desperately. It was all Sakura could do to first shove the Sound-nin away from the wounded civilian with a kick and block another blow from a different nin simultaneously, but the man was able to pull himself to his feet and escape.

With a roar of fury, Naruto leapt away from her side and threw himself at a group of three who were attempting to surround them. They dodged his initial blow, but then the Bunshin's of Naruto got to work; they were forced to retreat. Sasuke, who had rounded the corner of the cave with impressive speed had also thrown himself into the fray. Side by side, he and Naruto worked together and turned many shinobi onto the defensive.

But she couldn't stop to admire her teammates' handiwork, not with civilians in danger. Sakura took a deep breath, focused her chakra in her hands, and then, quickly sprinting over to the part of the cave where the villagers had escaped, threw two punches against the cave wall, praying to Kami that the entire thing wouldn't collapse. But her punches turned out to be in just the right places, for the mouth of the cave trembled and held, but huge boulders blocked the enemy's way to the men. So now that they were safe... The senbon she held in her hand were thrown, causing the shinobi that they hit to instantly drop to the ground. With a slight pull of her chakra, the senbon currently imbedded in the man's neck dislodged themselves and flew back into her grip.

_One down_, she thought, taking a moment to glance around the cave. All of her men were still standing, even the civilian who had been wounded. Thanks, no doubt, to her team, only fifteen Sound shinobi were left standing. A sudden movement behind her and drew her attention, but it was too late. She raised her arms in front of her body to protect her-

A chakra-enhanced kunai sneaked past her defense and connected with her side. With a cry of pain, she hit the gravel and boulders a couple of feet away, cradling her injury. "Dammit!" she swore, struggling to get to her feet, angry at herself for not being more alert. The agony made her movements slow and sluggish, but she couldn't heal the wound, not right yet anyway. The shinobi who had slashed her was advancing with the intent to kill. On her knees, she raised her kunai, her last defense.

"Sakura!" she heard Sasuke shout from somewhere in the flurry of activity and battle from her left, and with effort, Sakura turned her head to look at him, taking her eyes off of her opponent. The Uchiha leapt in front of her and with one swift, furious motion, slashed the shinobi's chest and killed him. Turning around, he yanked Sakura to her feet and dragged her with him, his kunai still ready in his right hand. "We've got to retreat," he yelled to her over the clashing of knives and the various shouts of curses and jutsu, "We can't win this one. I saw two other shinobi leave, probably to get reinforcements. If we want to survive past today, we have to leave!"

As Sasuke kept guard, Sakura, mulling over what her teammate had just told her, ripped open her shirt along her right side and, with a hand glowing with gentle chakra, began to knit together her torn flesh. Thankfully, the cut was long and shallow and was not too serious, but it had bled a lot. Even now she was feeling slightly woozy from blood loss and exhaustion. After all, they had been fighting nonstop for hours. Igarashi's men must be feeling it too.

Then she froze, her hand over her closed but now raw flesh. "Sasuke!" she cried out to him, and he turned around, his eyes flashing around furiously, looking for a target. "I have an idea!" Sakura grabbed his sleeve and tugged him towards her, "Let's get Naruto! I have an idea that could save us!"

He nodded once and followed her. Together they took off through the battlefield, ducking underneath kunai and shuriken and senbon and all other kinds of weapons towards Naruto, who wasn't hard to spot. Since his favorite jutsu was the forbidden _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_, all Sakura had to do was look for a plethora of yellow hair and shouts of insults at his enemies. She spotted him near the mouth of the cave, fighting off the second wave of enemy shinobi with Kakashi.

They didn't have much time; the reinforcements were already here.

But Naruto was busy, and Kakashi was holding off a number of them by himself. She had to ask Sasuke, her last option. "I need you to cover me," she said, grabbing his shirt in her fists, making him look down at her, "I'm going to cast a genjutsu over the entire cave."

He looked slightly apprehensive. "Do you have enough chakra to pull it off?" Sasuke asked her, unconvinced. His Sharingan eyes were darting back and forth, making sure no stray shinobi spotted them and attempted to kill them.

Even though Sasuke had a point, she nodded. This had to work. If not, chakra exhaustion would knock her cold and she would be a liability to her team. But if she didn't cast the genjutsu, then Igarashi's men would die. So which to choose? To be selfish and choose her team? Or to sacrifice themselves so that Igarashi had another chance to save the people of Iwate? "I'm sure," she said softly. She would sacrifice herself if need be. That was the shinobi way.

Sasuke sighed, then nodded. "C'mon," he said, gripping her small hand in his tightly. They raced to the rear of the cave where the fighting was the thinnest, where Sasuke sat her down with gentle hands before pulling out his katana and standing guard over her. She stared at his back for a few moments, hoping that he would understand how much she cared for him, even if he was an apathetic, socially confused bastard. Sakura smiled, then resolved herself for what she was about to do.

Sakura took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes, reaching inside of herself for every last ounce of her chakra. Her last hope before forming the seals for the complex jutsu was that her team would survive. They had survived worse before, but it had been luck that saved them. Against Zabuza, their first mission, luck and imagination had won over the incredible odds against them. She survived in the Forest of Death thanks to Rock Lee and Ino and her team. It was luck that they appeared. But now she could not count on her friends. Now, she was going to be the one to save them all!

Her chakra was concentrated and ready to go.

_"Kanashibari no Jutsu!_" she whispered.

The genjutsu usually used by ANBU would be most effective against, at most, a squad of four. But Sakura had changed it to encompass a much larger group of shinobi, adding an aspect of medical ninjutsu that would not only confuse them, but make their delusions last much longer. Every last drop of her chakra invaded the cave and searched for all the Sound shinobi. One by one, they grew disoriented and fell victim to Igarashi's men. For every shinobi that the genjutsu affected, Sakura's strength waned and she grew weaker. Her chakra was seeping out of her body at an alarming rate, but she had them. A little less than thirty Sound shinobi fell and died. The stragglers that had managed to dispel Sakura's powerful genjutsu turned tail and fled the scene to regroup.

She sagged to the floor as the shinobi vanished, her head swimming as her body attempted to hold on to the last of her chakra, but it was like gripping air. She felt so empty, so drained. A blur of shouts of victory filled her head and Sakura could not bite back the groan of pain as they echoed in her head. Her body felt like it was going to implode, and a sudden pressure on her arm just frustrated her where it was meant to calm her.

"Sakura," a voice called out softly, and Sakura dimly recognized Kakashi's gentle lilt, "Hang on, Sakura. You depleted your chakra with that genjutsu." He gently leaned her forward up against him in an attempt to check her back for injuries. She buried her face in his vest and waited, limply leaning up against him, waiting for sleep to overtake her and her chakra levels to rebuild.

"Sakura-chan, you baka!" she heard Naruto yell down at her from her other side, "You could have killed yourself! Don't you _ever_ do that again, do you hear me?!"

She only chuckled at the obvious concern in Naruto's voice. One hand felt around for his and then gripped it. "Don't worry about me," she rasped quietly, "I knew what I was doing."

Her teammate only huffed, and then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "You know I'll always worry about you, Sakura-chan, just as you will always worry about me!"

"I'll always worry about your head," she teased sleepily, her breaths already evening out and her body welcoming the gentle lull. She was so tired... and the darkness of sleep was very inviting to her worn body right now. Just before she gave in to her body's demands, she heard a soft whisper.

"Sleep, Sakura."

It was Sasuke.

-

"Hey, how're you feeling?"

Sakura groaned and rubbed her eyes as the voice woke her up from her healing sleep. "Whatisit?" she mumbled.

It was Naruto's face that stood over her, for the first thing Sakura could make out as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with aching limbs was the bright yellow hair. The second thing she noticed was that he was smiling, but it was rather forced.

"What is it?" she repeated, pushing herself into a sitting position. The ground suddenly whirled, and she was forced to close her eyes for a moment against the sudden dizzy spell. When it passed, Sakura grabbed Naruto's sleeve. "What is it?!"

"We need your help," Naruto admitted softly, helping her to her feet, "Hirotoro was wounded pretty badly, and you're the only one who knows how to heal. Has your chakra recovered enough for it?"

Sakura nodded, leaning on her friend for support as they slowly made their way out into the mouth of the cave. "Enough to stop the bleeding and help speed up the healing process," she said, her heart in her throat. She didn't want to lose Hirotoro. Not one more death due to Maeno, not again.

She spotted him, lying down on a pallet, his weathered face very pale, covered by a blanket adorned with stains of blood. Igarashi, looking slightly disheveled and tired, was sitting down next to his friend and partner, and not too far off stood Kakashi, his Icha Icha book nowhere to be seen. Next to Kakashi was Sasuke, who was cleaning his kunai to busy himself with something. When Igarashi saw her and Naruto, he managed a smile.

"Anything you can do will help," the lord of Iwate said quietly.

With a nod, Sakura sat down in front of Hirotoro, her eyes glancing over his body to assess the damage done. Apart from a few cuts on his arms and torso, he was relatively unharmed, but she knew, by the darkness of the stain over his abdomen, where the fatal injury lay. Gingerly removing the blanket, Sakura bit back a grimace of sympathy. A large weapon had been run through his abdomen and, from the jagged edges of skin and tissue, twisted. That son of a bitch!

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. _Focus,_ she told herself, and gathered chakra into her hands. Gently, she placed her hands on Hirotoro's abdomen and carefully stopped the bleeding of the major organs, knitting up the flesh and sewing shut the damage. But she had only healed the internal mess... now to stitch the entire wound closed to prevent infection, or he would die, internal bleeding cured or not.

Using the last of her chakra that could be expended, Sakura closed the wound as best as she could. She only had time to smile faintly upon seeing that all that remained of Hirotoro's wound was a pale pink scar, the grateful smile Igarashi sent her way, and the expressions of awe on her teammates faces before the dizzy spell returned again.

This time, Sakura did not fight it; she closed her eyes and slumped over, waiting for it to pass. But a grip manipulating her body forced her eyes open.

Sasuke picked her up despite her vehement protests. His rough hands that had killed countless before were surprisingly gentle as he manipulated her arms around his neck to support her weight. With a small grunt, he straightened up with her body cradled in his arms. Sakura froze in his grasp, mind growing dizzy from the overload of her senses. His scent, his warm, the feel of his arms supporting her made her feel woozy. _This isn't supposed to happen,_ Sakura thought, _I'm not supposed to feel this way! I thought that if I stayed far, far away, I wouldn't like Sasuke anymore. Then he has to go and act like he _cares_!_

"You should know better than to overexert yourself," Sasuke chided her, shaking her away from her thoughts. Their faces were inches away, but he refused to look at her, instead concentrating on the ground in front of him as he brought her back to her bedroll.

Sakura glared at him. "I won't let any more people die needlessly," she snapped back, wanting him to put her down.

His chest raised and then fell sharply in a sigh. "Sakura," he murmured, shaking the hair from his eyes, "That girl... in the village... that wasn't your fault. There was nothing you or anyone else could have done..."

"If we had gotten there sooner-"

"Then we all might have been killed. We don't know what we're up against! Maeno's hired thugs were strong, but I doubt he sent out his strongest force yet. He'll wait, until we're cornered."

He was far too close to her. Their cheeks were nearly touching, and every accidental touch was torture for Sakura. "I don't like waiting," she admitted angrily, turning her head away from his face to avoid contact, "I'd rather hunt than be the hunted."

Sasuke grunted his agreement.

"Then we had better be the ones that find him."

-

**End of Chapter Five! I have a surprise for you (and not to mention Sakura) in the next chapter, and the first person to guess what it is gets... a cookie! I also want to thank all of you who have reviewed! And please continue to review! **

_**-Jackie**_


	7. Chapter 6

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes. And maybe some sex later on.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY**: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke **never** left Konoha and **never** attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did **NOT** attack the Hokage Sarutobi with Orochimaru, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru **did** manage to kill the Sandaime, so **Tsunade is now Godaime**. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, Tenten and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story. **Akatsuki is NOT involved, so Itachi and the other misfits of the gang will NOT be in this story.**

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!

-

**CHAPTER SIX**

-

Sakura sat down the next morning outside in the sun, relaxing in its gentle rays and allowing her aching body to rest. The entire camp had been on high alert last night, waiting for any other possible waves of Sound shinobi to try and take them out, and tensions were still on high alert.

She groaned at the headache she had gained from Sasuke and Naruto's incessant bickering. They had woken her up with their insults and punches, and although she wanted to smash them both into the wall, it probably would not have been a great idea. That, and Kakashi had quickly ushered her outside with a promise of bringing food to her later to break up the fight himself. Sakura had left, though not before glaring at both of them openly for their immaturity. Naruto had enough sense to smile a sheepish apology her way.

So here she was, trying to relax in the sun while listening to the yelps and groans of Naruto and Sasuke as Kakashi took it upon himself to show them what sparring was all about. Not that her teammates' combined efforts didn't give her sensei a run for his money.

The fresh morning air was gentle against her skin. Sakura had discarded her shirt earlier, as the sunburn that had decorated her shoulders had faded into a light tan. The wound on her side was still slightly raw and twinged whenever she stretched, but the pain was bearable, and Sakura was only grateful that her genjutsu had actually worked and driven off the Sound shinobi. She had not only saved herself without any help, but she had also saved Igarashi-san and his men!

But as for the ANBU team, she couldn't wait for them to arrive. Sakura sincerely hoped that Yamato and Sai would be a part of the unit, but she knew that was wishful thinking. They were a part of ROOT, and even though Tsunade-sama trusted them, she doubted Danzou, that old coot, would allow them to leave to help one of the Hokage's prized teams.

Now that was rivalry.

Sakura nearly snorted. Rivalry described Sasuke and Naruto's friendship, not to mention the love-hate relationship between her and Ino. Rivalry was the three powers that Tsunade, Danzou and the Council held in Konoha. Even Kakashi-sensei and Maito Gai were rivals, and their bets and gambles were legendary in Konoha. Rivalry sure did strengthen skills, but sometimes it was quite troublesome and only provided problems. Right now, she had more than enough problems to deal with, but bickering with Ino was something she missed.

During her days off, Sakura always fell into a regular routine. In the mornings she would train with Shikamaru unless he had a mission with his old team. From time to time, Neji would join them; the Hyuuga claimed training with them always pushed him to the limit, what with and Sakura and Shikamaru's intelligence and planning combined, as well as the different styles of fighting. Shikamaru was a long distance fighter, usually keeping well out of his opponents grasp, but Sakura and Neji depended on hand to hand combat for most of their tricks. Sakura had her genjutsu for long range attacks, but they drained her chakra reserves so quickly that she relied on them only if she had no other option. Her medical jutsu and chakra-enhanced hits could only be made within feet of her opponent to actually affect them. Neji's attacks too were only useful if he could manage to hit the enemy, for his Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou closed the chakra sources in the body. Physical contact was necessary.

"Here you go, Sakura," Kakashi said sheepishly as he appeared behind her, holding out one small bowl of soup for her to take, which she did, "Breakfast!"

"Thanks, Kaka-sensei," she said, smiling, blowing on the simple broth soup to cool it. It was part of their supplies, backed full of nutrients and vitamins for a healthy shinobi that encompassed the entire day. Shizune and Sakura had helped to develop it in the hospital when too many shinobi turned up dehydrated and malnourished.

The older shinobi sat down next to her with a sigh, stretching out his feet before him. For a few long, comfortable moments, they sat in silence, eating their soup and watching the sun rise higher and higher in the sky. Well, Kakashi more of slurped his soup through his mask, Sakura wincing at the exaggerated sounds he was making. For the time being, Igarashi and his men were safe; if the Sound shinobi were retreating to regroup, then they would have attacked already before Igarashi and his men could recover. Their absence was a good thing.

She glanced over at her lanky friend; he was now reading the same Icha Icha as the day before, the pages well-worn and read countless times. When she was younger, the fact that her sensei read porn in public both embarrassed and irritated her. Now, Kakashi wouldn't be himself without that small orange book safely tucked away with his kunai.

Kakashi tilted his head to glance at her, his now empty soup bowl sitting forlornly by his side. "If you;re so interested in Icha Icha all of a sudden," he teased her affectionately, "I have an extra copy in my backpack."

Sakura flushed guiltily. "Well..." she began, laughing softly, "If you'd lend it to me, I promise I'd give it back."

Team 7's squad leader chuckled and ruffled her hair. "You're of age. It can't hurt. And it might even be... enlightening." Getting to his feet, Kakashi picked up his empty bowl and ambled back into the cave to get the romance novel, "Just make sure you don't tell Naruto."

"Tell me what?" she dimly heard Naruto ask, before a loud cry of pain was heard, then the clinking of kunai against kunai. Then the scuffle continued.

She squirmed where she sat, fighting down her embarrassment. She was an adult, so there was no harm in asking, but it was like a shift in the tables. Last week she had probably yelled at him to put the book away and train with them, and here she was now tentatively expressing her interest in it.

"You'll always be my little, awkward pink-haired brat," Kakashi said teasingly when he came back out, that offending book in his hand while his other hand rested on her shoulder like a brother would lean on his younger sister, "Kami, I remember when I first saw you three... I was thinking how unlucky I was! You were all so young and carefree, especially you and Naruto... you didn't know the meaning of being a shinobi and the death and loneliness that came with it like Naruto and Sasuke, but you learned..." His voice held a hint of sadness. "I sometimes wish you didn't have to learn that lesson, Sakura. I may have thought you weren't fit to be a shinobi when you were twelve, but now... you're my student and friend. You helped me to grow up and accept responsibility. I can't always protect you, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't if I could."

Sakura was speechless. Tears slowly gathered in her eyes as Kakashi spoke, and she was suddenly overwhelmed with affection for her mentor. He was usually _never_ this vocal about what he felt, usually hiding his true emotions behind snaky comments and teasing words. She opened her mouth to reply-

"Aww, you _do _care!" Naruto said from behind them, emerging from the cave sporting a black and blue cheek, courtesy no doubt of Kakashi. Her teammate plopped down on her other side and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Sorry for pissing you off, Sakura-chan!"

"Language," she said absently, though she gave her friend a smile. "Apology accepted, though you already apologized."

Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "I wasn't sure you would see it," he teased, "I know you see red when you're angry!"

Kakashi rolled his visible eye while Sakura raised an eyebrow. She knew her temper sometimes got the best of her, but was she really that bad?

The blond seemed to sense danger. Holding his hands up in front of him in defeat and to ward off any punches Sakura might possibly send his way, he clarified, "Anou, Sakura-chan, your temper is bad at all compared to Tsunade-baa-chan's! Every time I go to see her I walk away after being beaten into a pulp!"

"That's because you call her old every time you see her. Oh, and you usually just barge into her office without asking and shout in her face about getting a S-class mission," Sasuke remarked from behind them, his arms crossed over his chest.

While Sasuke and Naruto went back to insulting each other, Sakura turned back to Kakashi and took the Icha Icha he offered, quickly stuffing it into her pouch before the boys could see it and comment on it.

"Kakashi," she whispered happily, "Thank you. For the book, but also for earlier..."

He rewarded her with a rare embrace, then stepped up to tear Naruto away from Sasuke, where they both lay, attempting to pummel each other into the ground. "You two!" he said in exasperation, "Act your age! We're on a mission."

Sakura shook her head and laughed. Team 7 may be entirely dysfunctional and at times, completely insane, but they were her family, and times like this made her appreciate them all the more. They had been through so much together, and she knew it was only beginning.

-

Nothing out of the usual happened during the day, though the camp was much more subdued. The men rested and chatted quietly, playing cards or shogi around the fire pits while the women cooked a large feast in celebration of the battle won the night before. Children ran around, in and outside of the cave, whacking each other with sticks, so carefree and innocent that Sakura was envious.

For her team, however, training was their version of relaxation.

Naruto ate, napped and trained with Sasuke, going through drill after drill with each other while Kakashi watched and critiqued them. Although Team 7 was renowned for its skilled shinobi, there was still much that a veteran shinobi like Kakashi could teach to the teenagers. Naruto needed to learn patience, and Sasuke needed to learn humility. And Sakura needed to control her temper and not let words affect her.

Sakura glanced up from the book of jutsu Tsunade gave her to study when Sasuke sent Naruto flying with a crash. She watched him as the Uchiha stood over his teammate and friend, offering Naruto a hand up with a smirk. Naruto took the offered hand, but then the two were back to the drills. Her eyes lingered on Sasuke for a few short moments, watching the way his muscles rippled underneath his shirt and the way his eyes narrowed every time Naruto's fist flew his way. When he spun to avoid an attack, his dark hair would fall into his face in a way that made Sakura itch to gently tuck it behind his ear. And his dark eyes were staring intently at Naruto as he waited for another attack, just like the way he sometimes looked at her. _Like yesterday,_ she thought with a shiver, remembering the look in his eyes as he looked her up and down.

Growling at herself when she realized that she had been staring, Sakura forced herself to look back down at her book and concentrate.

._..the Doton Doryuuheki no Jutsu is specially designed to block other offensive jutsu from B class level and down. Mud flows from the user's mouth and forms a shield-like barrier that hardens when it is shaped..._

Her emerald eyes landed on Sasuke once more as he launched himself at Naruto, his shuriken stopped by one of Naruto's kunai. They broke apart, Sasuke dropping the shuriken to hurriedly form the seals for the _Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu_. Naruto's eyes widened, and a fraction of a second later, the blond took off through the air, concentrating chakra to the bottom of his feet to run up the steep walls of the cave to avoid the fireball Sasuke sent his way.

Sakura shook her head and returned to the book. _Better not disappoint Tsunade-sama,_ she thought dejectedly, silently wishing the book was more interesting... If she was careful, she could pull out the Icha Icha... no, Naruto would spot that immediately.

_...Chakra barriers, such as the Chakra no Tate no Jutsu, are used mostly defensively and can block an array of jutsu and weaponry from C class level and lower, though the user runs through chakra at an accelerated rate, especially with every hit that the chakra barrier takes..._

Sakura slammed the book shut in frustration. She already knew most of these jutsu! She was creative and intelligent enough to have formed her own defensive and offensive medical jutsu to suit her own needs!

Kakashi glanced over at her. "Something wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head, scrambling to her feet, her eyes fixed on the two teenagers fighting in the middle of the cave. They halted in their attack patterns when they saw her coming, but silently, Sakura motioned for them to continue. Shrugging out of her shirt, she released the catch on her shuriken holster and on her kunai pouch, withdrawing a kunai to grip between her teeth. Thanks to the good night of sleep, her chakra levels had recovered swiftly until she was at full capacity. She fixed the chakra in her fists after pulling on her gloves, then streaked into the fray.

Naruto was the unlucky one caught by her right hook; the poor teenager flew back a couple of feet, clutching his sore shoulder. "Unfair, Sakura-chan!" Naruto complained, though he was relatively unhurt, "That nearly dislocated my shoulder!"

"I'm not going to go easy on you," Sakura snarled, momentarily distracted as Sasuke activated his Sharingan and began an attack combination of taijutsu, forcing her to fix her eyes on his limbs and hope to Kami that she avoided all of his hits, "Don't go easy on me!" Sakura was forced to keep her eyes on Sasuke, leaving her open to any attacks Naruto might throw back at her. Taking a chance as she felt his chakra signature near her, Sakura flipped herself to the ground and swiped her leg at Sasuke's, hoping to catch him unawares. The mighty Uchiha only stumbled slightly, but it was enough for Sakura to hastily remove herself as Naruto came charing in.

As she was retreating, a hit grazed her back. Sakura let out a whoop of laughter that her quick escape plan had worked, even if Naruto had almost managed to get her. She knew that if he wanted to, Sasuke could have grabbed her, but it seemed he'd rather take out his frustration on his blond teammate. In response to that, Sakura came up behind him and, taking a leaf out of Neji's book, used her medical chakra to close one of the chakra pathways in his left arm in two seconds flat.

Sasuke's Sharingan, however, caught her and held her motionless when Sakura accidentally met his eyes when he turned his head to glare at her. Sakura cursed inwardly that she was careless enough to be ensnared, but her frustration lasted only a couple of seconds before Sasuke was forced to look away to avoid a kick of Naruto's.

She let out a sigh as her body unfroze, though for a few moments she watched as Sasuke drove Naruto further and further back, never once halting blow after enhanced blow, courtesy of the Sharingan, though his left arm was stiff and the movements were rough and sloppy. Naruto, panting, yelled to her, "Truce, Sakura-chan? Let's take out the teme!"

Sakura laughed. "Deal!" She flew at Sasuke from behind, gathering chakra in her palms again. With the chakra, she slammed her fist into the ground, causing the cave floor to groan and split as tiny fissures made the rock uneven. Sasuke stumbled slightly, and Sakura was able to grab his left arm and flip him over her body with a burst of strength.

Naruto raised his fist in the air and whooped, "Take that, Sasuke!"

The Uchiha didn't remain down for long; moving so fast his body blurred, he grabbed a surprised Sakura from behind and hefted her up over his shoulder, then launched her through the air. Sakura's eyes widened and a gasp escaped her lips as she realized she was heading for the cave wall at an alarming speed. There was nothing she could do; she hit hard and crumpled to the floor, dizzy and disoriented. Her shoulder, especially, stung horribly.

Naruto didn't fair any better. He too was lying on the ground, groaning as he coughed up spit and blood. "Damn, teme, that _hurt!"_

Sasuke looked a little apologetic as he glanced over at Sakura where she lay. "Sorry," he gritted out, walking over to her and offering her a hand.

Sakura smiled faintly and allowed him to help her to her feet, knowing that although his apology was gruff, he meant it. The Uchiha hated apologizing, and in an attempt to cover his awkwardness and embarrassment, he hid behind his emotionless facade. She watched as he tugged Naruto to his feet as well, though less like helping him to his feet as much as dragging their blond teammate up.

Their attention turned to Kakashi as he stood up, and, with a sigh, closed his Icha Icha and put it into his pouch pocket. "Naruto," he began, walking over to the ramen-loving shinobi and gesturing to his right arm, "You need to work on strengthening your punches and increasing speed in this arm; your left arm is much faster, and that difference in speed will cost you. Sasuke, you rely too heavily on the Sharingan; you need to be able to sense what is behind you as well. Sakura was able to close a chakra pathway in your arm quite easily because you weren't paying attention. Sakura, your use of chakra and strength is a good combination, but you as well need to work on increasing your speed when it comes to taijutsu."

Team 7 nodded. "Hai!"

Clapping from the left caused the four shinobi to glance over; there stood Lord Igarashi with Hirotoro, who was standing unsteadily on his feet but completely healthy. "That was quite a show," Igarashi complimented, brown eyes dancing in amusement, "Team 7 is very skilled, and I can safely say that without you and your young students, Kakashi, Maeno would have already won."

They bowed their thanks. Sakura couldn't help the small smile that stretched her lips at his praise. _We've worked so hard,_ she thought, _It's nice to get some recognition for it once in a while._

"I also want to thank you, Sakura-san," Igarashi continued, clapping Hirotoro Kado on the shoulder gently, "For helping my friend."

Hirotoro nodded and bowed to her. "My deepest thanks as well, Sakura-san. You are truly a gifted healer."

Sakura blushed with the praise and bowed back to them. "It was my honor to help," she murmured in embarrassment, but Naruto's affectionate hand on her shoulder eased it and soothed her frazzled nerves.

"Hey, do you feel that?" Naruto suddenly asked, looking towards the mouth of the cave. In a few quick, energetic bounds he raced outside, standing on the edge of the cliff and gazing out across the horizon, "Kakashi-sensei?"

Hirotoro smiled. "I believe that is the ANBU team from Konoha," he said, squinting in the bright afternoon sun, a hidden smile threatening to emerge on his weathered face.

Sakura ran to where Naruto stood and stared down where Naruto pointed; from what she could see, four shinobi and a large _something_ were coming their way quickly. Kakashi's secretive smile made Sakura suspicious. "What is it?" she asked curiously, but he only shook his head, still smiling.

"You'll see."

Sasuke appeared at her side, and he too peered down at the newcomers. "They don't look like ANBU," he observed, "Those aren't the uniforms... and... is that Akamaru?"

It was! Suddenly Sakura's heart was in her throat. "Kiba!" she heard Naruto cry happily, "I'll be damned, it's Kiba!"

If the squad wasn't ANBU, and if Kiba was there, then most likely the three other shinobi were part of the Rookie 9! Sakura laughed; their friends were coming to help them! She gazed at them intently, still trying to figure out who the other three shinobi traveling with Kiba and Akamaru were.

Sasuke suddenly groaned. When Sakura glanced at him inquisitively, he said dryly, "I see a green jumpsuit. Rock Lee is here, too."

Kakashi groaned as well. "At least Gai isn't on the squad!"

Then she felt it; two very familiar chakra signatures. "Oh Kami," she breathed, laughing just as happily as Naruto was, "Kakashi, is it really-?" But it was. Racing towards them across the desert was Shikamaru and Neji, bringing up the rear of the group. Sasuke threw her a veiled glance, a small frown on his face, though Sakura missed it in her excitement.

Her emerald eyes fixed on the two figures bringing up the rear of the squadron; Neji and Shikamaru, here! She couldn't believe it! "But Kaka-sensei, I thought Tsunade-sama was sending an ANBU squad?" she asked, though she found it hard to really care.

Kakashi shrugged. "I guess they were the only squad available."

Naruto chuckled as he realized who else was on the team. "Neji, huh? I think I owe him money... Well, at least we've got Shikamaru. He can do all the planning for us!"

She rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to whack him upside the head. "This is still our mission, Naruto," she reminded him, "They may help us, but we still are in charge and its our duty to finish it, not rely on the reinforcements to do it all alone."

"Doesn't mean that they couldn't," Sasuke muttered darkly under his breath before disappearing back into the cave. Sakura frowned as she watched him retreat back into solitude. Why wasn't he going to stay and welcome the new team? What did he really have against any of them anyway? Well, besides the distrust and animosity between him and Neji, anyway, or the sometimes-annoying and overzealous presence of Rock Lee...

Sakura forced herself to hold back as they came closer and closer. First they needed to check in to Kakashi and Lord Igarashi before the greetings could begin. This was a mission, not a get-together, and the need for professionalism was there. She felt a sense of relief wash over her knowing that Shikamaru would be around to help out, not to mention Neji and the most likely enthusiastic attempts from Kiba and Lee. Now this mission didn't seem so impossible to accomplish without getting stuck in the mud.

Climbing up the rock slope, Shikamaru waved lazily at her before moving forward to bow to Lord Igarashi and his bodyguards while Rock Lee, Kiba, Akamaru and Neji waited patiently behind him. "Jounin squadron reporting from Tsunade-sama, Hokage of Fire Country," he drawled, "We are yours to command."

The gray haired man bowed back gravely. "I present my humblest thanks to the Hokage for her generosity. Make yourselves at home for now; I'm sure that Team 7 will show you around and update you on the present situation." With another bow, Igarashi too left and retreated inside the cave, heading back towards his tent.

Despite her happiness that Shikamaru was here, Sakura couldn't help but fell slightly put out by the absence of Sasuke. He wasn't usually intentionally rude... but maybe it was the fact that Neji was on the team... She glanced towards the cave, but all she could see was shrouded in the darkness that the shade offered. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

"Hmm," Shikamaru said from a couple feet in front of her, causing her to look back at her friend, "I thought you would have been more excited to see me, Sakura." His dark eyes were glinting as he squinted in the bright sunlight, though he looked undeniably content where he was standing. He was wearing his jounin vest, though the black long sleeved shirt he usually wore underneath was replaced by a short sleeved one, and the standard issue shinobi trousers were replaced with dark shorts with a plethora of pockets. The heat didn't really seem to be bothering him at all, even though he had basically just run across the desert that had nearly exhausted her.

Sakura didn't hesitate to run up to him and throw her arms around his neck. Warm, broad hands patted her back gently; he always had thought physical contact was troublesome, especially due to the ferocity of his female teammate, Ino, whenever she felt the need to embrace him. "I'm so glad you're here!" she said happily.

The Nara clan genius chuckled and ruffled her hair when she released him. "I thought you would be. Tsunade-sama told me to tell you that she gave you the wrong jutsu book as well. Troublesome."

Sakura gave a cry of defeat. "I can't believe it! Here I was, suffering through reading about all the jutsu I already know... great, that's time wasted."

Shikamaru shook his head and rubbed his temple. "It's too troublesome," he said, though he was grinning, "I wouldn't have read it if I were you."

"Well, I was bored today, and Naruto and Sasuke were sparring, Kaka-sensei was reading, and I-"

Neji interrupted her rant, one eyebrow raised. "Where is my hello?" he asked, a small smile stretching his lips as he placed a friendly hand on her shoulder. She was surprised to see that he was not wearing his traditional robes; instead, the Hyuuga prodigy was clad in shorts very similar to Shikamaru's and a dark green shirt that rapped around his front and snapped at the side. Instead of usual clothing that shinobi wore, this shirt looked more like what Neji would wear on his days off, but she could tell from the slightly open sleeves and the dark arm wraps that peeked out from under it that he was able to hide many weapons. _Heh_, she thought, _he'll be underestimated._

Sakura grinned back at Neji warmly and was about to greet him properly when they turned to see Naruto, Kiba and Rock Lee shouting about something. Well, Naruto and Kiba were chatting away about something when Lee had decided to join them. Naruto must have made some snarky comment, for Kiba hit him on the head with a loud laugh and Lee was saying something about youthful energy-

Sakura sighed as Lee saw her. "Sakura-san!" he said happily, immediately making a bee-line for the woman he loved. She cringed inwardly; even though he was a good friend, he never seemed to understand that she just didn't feel the same way about him. Every time she saw him, he would tell her how beautiful she was, how she was his 'youthful Sakura-san' among many other pet names that she just didn't appreciate. But deep inside, she would found the attention he showered her with rather flattering if he didn't shower her with it every _single time_ she saw him.

But thankfully, Kakashi intercepted Lee right before he reached her and right before Sakura made an obvious retreat behind Shikamaru. "Let's get into the shade," the older shinobi suggested, laying a hand slightly on Lee's green-clad shoulder and basically pushing him inside without waiting for an answer. Shikamaru snickered at the look of relief on Sakura's face.

Sakura sighed in relief as Kakashi steered the unsuspecting Lee away from her and into the cave. Laughing from behind a gloved hand, Kiba left Naruto's side and came over to hug her swiftly. "Your teacher has great timing," he teased lightly, the tips of his pointed canines peaking out from between his lips, "He kept blabbering about you the entire way here!"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru added.

A flying ball of shaggy brown and white fur suddenly came flying at her; Sakura didn't have time to react as a solid one hundred and fifty pounds of muscle and bone hit her before she fell backwards, landing with an "_Oomph!"_ on her backside.

Naruto was laughing so hard that tears came to his eyes as he attempted to pull Akamaru off of her as she was subjected to having her face 'cleaned' with his long, slobbery tongue. "Hey Akamaru," she said weakly, wincing as her face dripped with dog saliva. In the end, Neji had to aid Naruto in pulling the determined, oversized puppy away from Sakura.

Sakura scrambled to her feet with a laugh. "Nice to see you too, Akamaru." The dog barked at her, then turned around and swiftly padded back to his master's side as Kiba whistled once. "Let's head in," she suggested, and the five shinobi and one dog followed her, all happy to get out of the hot, boiling sun and into the cool, welcoming shade.

"Where's Sasuke?" Kiba asked in confusion, looking around as his eyes grew accustomed to the dark, "I don't remember seeing him."

Sakura blanched, but thankfully no one noticed as Naruto replied with a grin, "Oh, teme? He's been really moody lately. But honestly, he's always like that. Don't take it personally if he doesn't want to show his face, he's just missing out!" Neji nodded in understanding as Kiba snickered and Shikamaru rolled his eyes. They all knew how unsociable the infamous Uchiha was.

_Yeah_, Sakura agreed sadly, scanning the interior of the cave before her eyes fell on his familiar silhouette near the far wall of the cave, _That's just how he is..._

-

**I wanted this chapter to be as lighthearted as possible, because the next chapter is going to be all action!**

**Thank you for all the reviews! I had to say, I did not expect this many, but they made me very happy! So je vous donne une GRANDE merci beaucoup! And thanks for all the guesses too!**

**The winner of the cookie: ALAYNENI! You were right; Shikamaru is part of the backup team! With Rock Lee, Kiba and Neji as well. giggle**

**I'm really trying to portray Sakura in a new light. I know she was kinda girly and didn't try hard enough in the first couple of seasons, but in Shippuuden she has really improved so much and is now so independent... She's always been my favorite character, even in the first season, so to see this change in her behavior and skills is really great, and now that she's an independent, strong willed woman, she's just so fun to write about! (I hope you guys feel the same way!)**

**Okay, enough of a rant. But seriously, thanks to all of you who have stuck with the story so far! Like I may have said in previous chapters, I have NEVER completed a full-length story before I ran out of steam, so I am forcing my nose to the grindstone with this one and I WILL finish it! And then on to other missions! Ahem, stories!**

**So I really like hearing what you think... review? For me? **

**Love!!**

** -Jackie**


	8. Chapter 7

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes. And maybe some sex later on.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY**: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke **never** left Konoha and **never** attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did **NOT** attack the Hokage Sarutobi with Orochimaru, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru **did** manage to kill the Sandaime, so **Tsunade is now Godaime**. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, Tenten and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story. **Akatsuki is NOT involved, so Itachi and the other misfits of the gang will NOT be in this story.**

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!

-

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

-

A few hours later after catching up with the new Jounin team that had joined them - not to mention after all the teasing, the laughing, and the trading of old mission stories had worn out - the cool, night air saw seven Konoha shinobi sitting in a loose circle on the top of the small mountain where Sakura and Sasuke had trained only two days before. Surprisingly, the only shinobi absent was Kakashi; giving a vague excuse about scouting, he had settled farther down the mountainside, most likely to read his porn in peace and quiet. Sasuke, after attempted to avoid the group of teenagers for an hour or two, eventually had been roped in by Naruto to join them, albeit grudgingly with a scowl fixed on his face.

Sakura sighed, wondering for the millionth time why her traitorous heart had chosen someone as distant and calculating as Uchiha Sasuke.

But she couldn't dwell on it for long, because five minutes ago, Naruto had a brilliant plan; a good natured spar against each other, like a very small scale of the tournaments that they would hold in Konoha. "No aiming to kill," Naruto said, laying down the guidelines, "We'll each spar with one other person, and whoever wins continues. Whoever loses will battle the others that lose as well. This will just be taijutsu; no other jutsu will be used, since Kaka-sensei said we need to conserve chakra."

Shikamaru sighed and remarked dryly, "That sounds troublesome." He reached up to scratch his head, waiting for their companions to argue for the tournament.

Sakura laughed at the exasperated expression on the Nara genius' face before Naruto could leap on him. "Only if you have to fight against Lee," she teased, rubbing her arms to generate warmth as a cool night breeze whipped around the cliff of the mountain. The small fire flickered and almost puttered out, but at the last moment the embers caught flame again. Sasuke, realizing the problem, knelt down near the fire and made the seals for one of the Katon jutsu, effectively causing the twigs to catch fire anew.

The green-clad shinobi sitting to Sakura's other side laughed as he stretched his arms, "I'll wear my weights," Lee said to the wry amusements of his companions, "That way you won't be at a disadvantage by not using any chakra."

Neji merely raised an eyebrow. "I know for a fact that my taijutsu skills rival yours, even without your weights."

Naruto choked on the ramen he was eating. "How modest, Neji!" her blond teammate guffawed once he caught his breath, but immediately shut up when Sasuke punched him.

"Let's just spar," Shikamaru sighed again, crossing his arms behind his head, an action that mirrored Naruto, "What a drag; I was hoping to rest."

Kiba got to his feet and belted on his shuriken holster and his kunai pouch while his gigantic, fuzzy companion raising his head to glance at his packmate and alpha. "Well, if it's an open match," the Inuzuka teenager said, waggling his eyebrows with a saucy grin, "Lee, I'll take you on!"

As Kiba and Lee began to spar, Sakura snuck a glance at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye as inconspicuously as she could, for he was usually very perceptive. His attention at the moment, however, was not fixed on her - to both her relief and disappointment - but instead on Lee as the energetic shinobi all but dared Neji to go up against him. She had to hide her smile; the thin line of Sasuke's mouth and the slight furrow between his eyebrows told her that Lee's actions were annoying to him. That, and the murderous glare he was throwing his way, the one that never failed to send small, involuntary shivers up her spine in anticipation. But then by chance, Sasuke's gaze left Lee's and settled on her. Sakura didn't look away, knowing that the damage was already done. Instead of smirking, Sasuke's expression was... confused. Puzzled. Completely contradictory of the predatory smile he had given her after their spar...

She offered a hesitant smile his way before quickly averting her eyes and turning back towards the others. But for long moments after she had looked away, Sakura felt his eyes on her. _Great... he knew she had been staring..._

Their relationship had always been undefined. Sakura had no way of knowing what she was to him, if anything. She was a teammate, sure, but was she a friend? Acquaintance? Did he respect her abilities as a kunoichi? Did he realize how hard she had worked just to be recognized? He _had_ turned down the power offered him by Orochimaru, and even the private teacher Tsunade-sama had offered, so Sasuke had to care a little to remain in Konoha and wait to go after Itachi until he was ready!

Maybe he wanted someone beautiful...stunning... Sakura knew she was decent looking, almost plain if not for the vibrant green of her eyes of the cool pink of her hair, but was she remarkable enough to be able to turn the head of the stoic Uchiha?

Sasuke had made it abundantly clear years ago that he had just two goals: slay Uchiha Itachi and restore the Uchiha Clan to its original splendor. Even though Sakura knew she could never be with Sasuke unless he truly cared for her, she couldn't help but wonder if Sasuke had ever considered her as a possibility for a wife. She may not know how to arrange flowers or even cook proficiently, but she did know how to defend herself and the ones she loved! A fault of hers could be said that she was _too _loyal in some respects - evident in the long shifts she would pull at the hospital until she nearly collapsed from chakra depletion or the fact that even though he had never encouraged her at all, Haruno Sakura was _still_ in love with Uchiha Sasuke?

Sneakily, Sakura glanced back over at her dark-haired teammate when she didn't feel his dark stare on her. The way his onyx eyes glinted as he plotted inside his head, watching the strategies of both Rock Lee and Kiba and Akamaru as they sparred and making a mental note on any flaws or weaknesses caused her heart to clench painfully inside her chest. His aristocratic features were shadowed by the fire, throwing his face into sharp contrast until it seemed his eyes glowed.

She longed to be at his side...she longed to feel his arms wrapped around her tightly, the feel of his skin on hers... and she wanted his trust. She wanted to be the one he turned to when he was unsure, longed to be the one he would confide in. But maybe she was just kidding herself. After all, that wasn't Sasuke, at least not the one the world knew. A tangled mystery lay behind that apathetic facade, and Sakura was determined to break his defenses down. If hers weren't already so vulnerable against his mere presence.

Sakura got to her feet abruptly, causing Neji to glance up at her inquiringly. "Where are you going?" he asked as she hesitated slightly, unsure why she had stood up. The others turned to look at them at the sound of the Hyuuga's voice, sans Kiba and Lee. Sakura could feel Sasuke's gaze especially, hard and unyielding as he stared at her.

"I'll be right back," she excused herself hastily, "I, uh, need to check something."

Shikamaru nodded, though the gleam in his sharp eyes told her he was skeptical. "Alright."

She hoped that as she ambled away from the group that they did not see the tense line of her shoulders or realize that her retreat had been rather hasty. Now alone in the cool twilight air, Sakura took a deep breath and sighed. "I can't let this affect me," she told herself in disappointment, "My friends are here, and the only thing I can think about is _him._ The mission comes first..."

Sakura didn't make it very far before she heard the telltale scuffs of footsteps against the dry earth. She closed her eyes and sent a small thread of chakra out to see who it was and immediately choked. "What are you doing here?" she muttered to Sasuke in annoyance, praying to Kami he didn't notice the red that flamed on her cheeks or the subtle shaking of her hands. Quickly she pressed them together.

He halted a couple feet away from her. "What's wrong?" he demanded gruffly, crossing his arms in that patronizing manner of his that never failed to annoy her. Sasuke awkwardly waited, refusing to meet her eyes. Sakura knew that he was not good at social interaction, and trying to figure out what was wrong subtly was never going to be one of his strengths.

Sakura huffed and began to walk away from him. "Nothing." Her ears furiously listened for any sound, any sense of movement from him, but for a few long moments, he remained perfectly motionless, no doubt watching her back retreat further and further into the night.

"Fine!" Sasuke spat after her, and then a second later, she heard his feet crunching their way across the scratchy undergrowth and sands of the desert. He headed back to the cave, however, not back towards their friends and fellow shinobi.

Sakura blinked furiously as tears began to form in her eyes. What was wrong with her? She should be _happy!_ Shikamaru and Neji were here, and having Kiba and Rock Lee along as well would keep Naruto busy and give her some time with the two strategists of the Konoha Twelve. Right now, Lord Igarashi and his men were planning an invasion, most likely now with the help of Kakashi, who, if she was correct, was now joining them in the cave. And Sasuke too, she was sure, would have some input. And as soon as they captured Maeno Montaro, this mission would be over!

Well, the least she could do was find Shikamaru and Neji. She had longed to spend time with her friends and sparring partners for this entire mission, only if Neji's sarcastic humor and Shikamaru's blunt observations allowed her to relax in their company. It took the guesswork out of dealing with Sasuke, anyways. But before Sakura could find the two jounin, they found her.

"Kakashi-san called us," Neji informed her promptly, already turned towards the cave. She smiled; after growing close to the Hyuuga genius, she could read his emotions despite his apathetic appearance that gave no hint to what he was feeling. Right now Neji was irritated and tired, not to mention edgy, noticeable only by the slight tension of his shoulders.

Shikamaru shook his head as they began to walk back. "What a drag," he sighed, "I wanted to talk about the mission in the morning."

Sakura smiled at them. "I guess Igarashi-sama found it important to tell you. After all, I know we're going to have to infiltrate Iwate within the week. The supplies for the camp won't last too much longer, not to mention the fact that if we stay here for more than a week, there is the possibility that Maeno will send more shinobi to try and eliminate the threat we pose."

Neji appeared at her other side and casually tugged on a lock of pink hair. Sakura suddenly felt dwarfed, standing between two shinobi masterminds who both were at least a head taller. If the landscape wasn't so distinctly different from the temperate climate of Konoha, she would have thought she was merely walking through the training grounds with her two friends. But there were no trees, no grass, none of the undergrowth that made up the fast forests surrounding Konoha. The river that flowed through the center of the village was absent, and the houses upon houses and the numerous restaurants, food stands and scroll shops were nowhere to be seen.

Sakura was suddenly hid with a bout of home sickness as they continued back to the cave for the first time on this mission. She missed being able to go home to her apartment and fix herself something to eat before collapsing onto the couch in front of the television and spending the remainder of the night there, either alone or with Naruto, who lived only two blocks down. She missed having the lunch dates with Ino, Hinata and Tenten, and she missed finding Kakashi snooping outside of the book shop, waiting frantically for the new Icha Icha to be brought up from the storeroom.

And hell, she even missed spending training sessions with Sasuke. At least she was positive she would see him every morning when Team 7 met at the bridge. Here, they had been forced to spend hours upon hours together because of the mission, not because Sasuke wanted to be in their company for prolonged periods of time.

A sudden arm that wrapped around her shoulders broke her out of her thoughts. Sakura glanced up at Shikamaru, who was frowning down at her. "You think too much, Sakura. Besides, I know what you're thinking of."

Sakura nearly choked. "Y-You do?"

The dark haired Nara smirked. "We know you too well. When are you going to give up on Uchiha?"

"There you are!" Naruto called out, running through the dark towards them, panting, "Kaka-sensei told me to come get you! He said to stop fooling around, it's important-" Once he reached them, his bright cerulean eyes fixed on Sakura's face. "Hey, you okay, Sakura-chan?" He pried Shikamaru's arm off of her and slipped his own arms around her comfortingly.

Sakura closed her eyes and turned her head away, though she didn't make any move to escape from Naruto's tight, brotherly embrace. Why was she so easy to read?

"What did you do?" Naruto demanded to Neji, who immediately glowered at the younger shinobi.

The Hyuuga shinobi merely shook his head. "Why did you automatically think that _I_ upset Sakura?" Neji crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "We'll discuss it later. Kakashi-san is waiting for us."

Silently the four shinobi made their way to the cave, where the remainder of their companions were waiting for them. Kakashi was the only one who was standing, looking uncharacteristically tense as his lone eye glared at his surroundings. "In two days time, Iwate will be Igarashi-san's once more," he said without ado as soon as they were in earshot, "No jutsu, no using chakra. We will need to be in top condition. On dawn of the third day, we attack. There will be two teams; Team Alpha and Team Beta. Team Alpha will enter the outer ring of the financial and government districts and search for Maeno and eliminate any threat. Team Beta will sneak into the control tower and activate the gate control, allowing Team Alpha to slip inside to the inner government ring to seize control of it, and Team Beta will provide assistance and necessary diversions when necessary, as well as gathering any intelligence on Maeno Montaro's location, if it happens to change. I won't lie to you; both missions are going to be close to impossible."

"Why do you say that?" Neji asked, pale eyes flickering in the darkness.

"Igarashi-san just informed me that he has a contact in Iwate. Maeno spends his days in the government district, in one of the meeting rooms in the inner ring. According to this contact, Sound shinobi patrol along both rings of the government and financial districts in squads of six. We'll be lucky to make it through there alive. Right now, Igarashi-san and I are working to find some way around. Shikamaru, I require your assistance as well. I will lead Team Alpha, you will lead Team Beta. Understood?"

"Hai, hai," the lazy jounin said, "Just tell me what I have to do."

Naruto stepped forward, a frown on his face. "Who will make up the teams?" he asked uncertainly.

Kakashi sighed at this. "I've made my choice already, Naruto, and Igarashi agreed based on my description of each shinobi here. Naruto, you, Rock Lee and Kiba will be on Team Alpha, my squad. Sakura, Shikamaru, Neji and Sasuke will make up Team Beta."

"You can't just split up Team 7!" Naruto shouted angrily, "We work best when we're together!"

"That is true, but the teams were designed _specifically_ by their talents. Team Alpha was designed to be able to be able to handle the most resistance, while Team Beta was designed to be able to slip into Iwate undetected. Naruto, besides myself, you have the largest reserve of chakra, and your Kage Bunshin no jutsu is perfect for our job. Kiba and Akamaru have a strong bond, which enables them to effectively eliminate enemy shinobi together. And Rock Lee is an exceptional shinobi for his taijutsu alone. We need the combination of all of these skills to be able to succeed, for where you and Kiba have a large amount of jutsu, your lack of taijutsu is balanced by Lee's skill."

Naruto was placated, but only slightly. "Well, what about Team Beta?"

"Sakura is very skilled with genjutsu, which makes her the ideal choice to neutralize guards without causing a ruckus. She also can use her chakra to knock through doors, steel or wood, very easily. Neji and his Byakugan will make sure that Team Beta can slip through the inner ring of the financial and government districts to reach the gate tower without running into trouble. If necessary, Sasuke is there to handle any guards with his Sharingan which, as we know, is deadly. Not to mention Shikamaru, who will be the squad leader, who can think his way out of anything and can immobilize guards with his Shadow Bind."

Sakura gasped as Naruto suddenly grabbed her tightly. "Sakura-chan," he murmured into her neck, "I'll kick your ass if anything happens to you or Sasuke."

She merely laughed. "Right back at you, Naruto-baka."

Over Naruto's shoulder, she met the hard gaze of Sasuke. He nodded his head once at her in affirmation of Naruto's statement: Sasuke's own way of telling her that they had all better be careful.

-

The next two days, on Kakashi's orders, Team 7 and the jounin squad rested. The hours passed by far too quickly for Sakura; she enjoyed the time she spent with friends she hadn't seen for many weeks due to her hectic hospital shifts and the unpredictability of missions. But underneath the jokes and conversations, there was an undercurrent of tension and anxiety that hung over Igarashi's camp. Behind the mens' cheerful and friendly facades, there was fear. Fear that Maeno would survive their attack, fear that families would forever be separated. And now, Maeno knew shinobi were present in Wind Country. Their enemy knew they were coming, and they would be waiting for them.

It was near dusk on the second day when Sakura considered it safe enough to find the Icha Icha book she had hidden deep within the confines of her pack. Naruto was napping quietly beside her in his bedroll, one arm thrown haphazardly over his eyes. After making sure he was actually asleep and after scanning the wave with her chakra for any other chakra signatures - especially the elusive dark-haired teammate of hers that had disappeared off the face of the earth after Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba and Lee arrived- Sakura silently dug into her pack and took out that small orange book that had plagued her thoughts. Hesitantly, Sakura opened to a random, illustrated page near the middle of the book. Here, the woman was holding on to her handsome partner as the man pressed kisses against her naked body... Sakura felt a hot blush spread across her cheeks, mortified and fascinated at the same time. But to make it worse, her treacherous brain caused the picture to shift... and instead of the blond man kissing the brunette's body, it was Sasuke, kissing her own...

_"C'mon baby," she breathed, tangling her fingers in his thick hair, "Let's go somewhere else, where they can't find us..."_

_He growled against her skin, licking and nipping lightly down her navel. "I don't care if they find us. You're mine, and I want everyone to know that."_

Snap_!_

Sakura threw the closed book back in her bag and threw her spare set of clothing over it in a huff. She couldn't believe that she had just imagined _that_! Kakashi was a horrible influence, and she was going to tell him that immediately and demand that he take his perverted, disgusting book back and never let her lay eyes on it again-

But then she sighed. She was the one who wanted to learn more about... passionate encounters. That was probably the one thing in life that she was absolutely clueless about, apart from the medical perspective of intercourse and what came out of it. Ino had told her of her...adventures with the other sex, but Sakura knew that everything was over-exaggerated... As for her...well, she hadn't even been _kissed_ before. At seventeen, that was just odd.

Sakura was just about to retrieve the Icha Icha book again when a shadow fell over her and Naruto's sleeping form. Glancing up, she was surprised to see Sasuke standing over her, his hands shoved deeply in his pockets.

"S-Sasuke," she started, "What're you doing here?"

He scoffed. "I can't spend time with my team?" he asked coldly, though the way he kicked at a rock with his foot betrayed the awkwardness and tension of the situation. Without waiting for a response, the Uchiha sat down in front of her and leaned forward to hit Naruto's leg roughly. The blond merely grumbled and turned away from them with a soft, sleepy sigh. When the action failed to cause the desired response, Sasuke too sighed and made himself comfortable.

For a couple of moments, they were both silent. Sakura waited for Sasuke to breach the silence, unsure what to say or do that wouldn't scare off her reticent, reclusive teammate. But the dark haired Uchiha seemed content to merely be in her and Naruto's presence; he had taken out his kunai and katana and began sharpening them.

Sakura, who had been eyeing him tentatively, was about to grab her pack and take out her own weapons for maintenance when Sasuke's voice stopped her.

"What are your parents like?" Sasuke asked quietly, running the sharpening stone down the sharp side of his katana carefully and efficiently. He paused for a moment to test the blade against his thumb, then, dissatisfied, ran the stone along its edge again, waiting calmly for Sakura to respond.

If Sakura hadn't seen his lips move along with his words, she would have sworn that she was imagining things. "Well," she began softly, "My mom is pretty normal, I guess. She likes to cook, and her garden is beautiful. When I was young we used to garden together. That's how I know so much about different kinds of medicinal herbs- Mom taught me. After I moved into my own apartment, she moved next to the Yamanaka family; I still see her about twice a week. Her and Ino's mom are childhood friends, so at least she isn't alone."

"What about your father?" he probed.

Sakura shrugged lightly. "My father hasn't been around for a long time. He left my mom and I when I was three, so I don't really remember him or know what he looks like, except for the pictures Mom keeps in her bedroom. Mom told me he was sent on a mission and never came back. Actually, Tsunade-sama let me look in the records of all active shinobi, and he was listed as MIA, not KIA. I guess Mom still hopes that he'll come back, even though its been nearly fourteen years."

Sasuke looked up from his task and met her eyes, his gaze rather soft. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"It's okay, really," Sakura assured him gently, turning a kunai over in her hands to inspect the hilt, "I didn't really know him, so there isn't really anyone to miss."

He reached out a calloused, tanned hand, and for a moment, Sakura was confused as to what Sasuke wanted. But when he put aside his katana, she realized he was silently offering to inspect her weapons for her and sharpen them. She handed them over with a soft, "Thank you."

"What... what were _your_ parents like?" Sakura asked hesitantly, wincing inwardly as he tensed visibly. For a terrible moment, she feared she had gone too far and pried into business that shouldn't concern her anyway. She wasn't ignorant; she knew what had happened that night, she knew all about the Uchiha massacre.

Just when Sakura opened her mouth to apologize, Sasuke answered. "My father was always busy with the police force... and with Itachi." The name was spat out bitterly. "He taught me how to throw kunai when I was five, but... I still rarely saw him." The words began to rush quickly out of Sasuke's mouth, as though it was relieving to speak of his childhood. "My mother, though, was always around. She taught me to read and write when Father was out... Mother liked to garden, too. Ours was very beautiful, and we would always bring the flowers to my aunts and grandmothers after Clan meetings."

She smiled at him. "What did she look like?"

Sasuke turned his head to look at her again, his expression thoughtful and slightly sad. "She had long, black hair... and very blue eyes. When she was angry, they were like ice. But when she smiled, everyone else smiled."

"She sounds very lovely," Sakura assured him, "I'm sure she loved you very much."

Sasuke nodded, then glanced over at her beseechingly. "Do you... do you think that they would understand? That I need to - to kill Itachi?"

Sakura was speechless for a moment, trying to wrack her brain for something to say to him. Here he was, _Sasuke_, lowering his defenses and showing her a side of himself that he usually kept locked far inside behind a cool, collected facade... "Yes," she answered honestly, "They would understand. They loved you."

"Yeah," Sasuke sighed, looking back to the kunai lying scattered around him in a heap, "I... I wish I had known. Who he really was... what he was _really _like. Then... then maybe I could have stopped them."

Sakura was silent; her nerves hummed agitatedly, and hastily, she spluttered out, "Will you take us with?"

His mouth fell open slightly. "W-what?" he asked, obviously confused.

"When you go to kill Itachi... will you take us with?"

"Why?" The defenses were back in place, for the emotion in his eyes disappeared as cold replaced it. His scarred hands gripped the handle of the kunai until his knuckles turned white with the pressure.

"Friends help friends!" she cried out, throwing aside her back to scramble to her feet, "Naruto and I, we can help you! You won't have to be alone when you face your brother! We can help you!"

Anger flared up in his face. "I don't need your help," he spat out, though his hands were steady as he sheathed his katana and handed over her kunai, "I have to face him alone." He got to his feet to leave.

"No, you don't," Sakura said, reaching out to grab his arm, "Sasuke, listen to me! Naruto and I, we care about you! Revenge isn't going to bring you the peace you want, _living_ will! Itachi is an S-class nin, Sasuke! No matter how strong you get, Itachi will always have more experience. But with Naruto and me, we can take him down _together_, and you can avenge your family!"

Sasuke was frozen where he stood, his eyes fixed firmly ahead of him.

The silence was broken by a sleepy whisper. "Wha's goin' on?" Naruto mumbled.

"Nothing." Sasuke broke free of Sakura's grasp and disappeared. She didn't see him for the remainder of the night.

-

It was time.

Sakura got to her feet, fully clothed in her shinobi gear. Her pack was strapped firmly on her shoulders, carrying only her most important antidotes and weaponry. She checked the ties on her boots and double checked that her senbon were safely in their holster on the top hidden strap of her right boot. These senbon were dangerous; they each were dipped in a sedative strong enough to drop two Kakashis' worth of shinobi. She hated killing, so these were a rather reasonable alternative to ending a life. These would be used to successfully stop any civilian guards on their way to the control tower.

She swallowed thickly as Naruto came up to her. _Don't cry,_ she told herself as she saw tears well up in her teammate's blue eyes. Naruto threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly, a hug which she returned just as fervently. This would be the first time that she would be apart from Naruto - on a mission anyway - and even the fact that Kakashi-sensei wasn't going to be with them left a small ache in her chest of worry. She'd rather have the two in her sight so she could keep them out of trouble!

"We'll be okay," Naruto mumbled into her shoulder quietly, then released her to look at her. "Take care of Sasuke-teme for me, will yah?"

Sakura managed a shaky laugh. "If Kaka-sensei goes comatose, I'm holding it against you! But if you all come back with only _minor_ injuries, I'll treat you to as many bowls of ramen you'd like! You can even host a wild party at my apartment"

Kakashi came up from behind them, his lone eye wide. "Sakura, that's a lot of money. I hope you know what you're doing!" His tone betrayed his amusement. "I've finally gotten used to having you kids around; let's keep it that way."

Sakura hugged him. "Don't worry, sensei, we've gotten used to having porn around us."

His eye crinkled at her little hint. "I'm glad."

Shikamaru and Lee arrived moments later, both dressed and ready to go. Sakura's heart clenched at the sight of them, knowing that Team 7 only had mere minutes before the attack would commence. This was it, the moment that they had been waiting for, through tears and blood and sweat.

Wildly, Sakura looked around for Sasuke. It was now... or never. This wasn't just a practice session where everyone would return to their homes when it was over, and there would be no buffers or friendly competition. There would be sharp kunai and weapons thrown to kill, wild flurries of ninjutsu and taijutsu, anything to beat the enemy to merely stay _alive-_

When Sasuke walked slowly out into the morning light, Sakura felt her heart clench in her chest for the second time that morning. He glanced over where the remainder of Team 7 stood and hesitated, as if he were unsure whether he were welcome or not. Naruto was the first to move, grabbing Sasuke's arm and dragging him into a hug. "Teme," he laughed, "Keep Sakura-chan safe."

Sakura snorted. "I can take care of myself, Naruto."

Sasuke glanced over at her. "I'll look after her if she looks after me." His lips twitched slightly in a tiny smile that Sakura couldn't help but return.

When Naruto finally released Sasuke, Sakura nearly jumped at the opportunity. Without a second thought, she threw her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly. For a moment, nothing happened, but then she felt his large hands rest gently on her back. Inside, she was grinning from ear to ear; outside, she managed to keep her expression neutral.

The odd look in Sasuke's eyes when they parted caused Sakura to catch her breath; she didn't know what it meant. In a flash, whatever that look meant was gone when Neji and Kiba - along with the gigantic Akamaru - joined the group. Kiba walked over to where Team 7 stood and clapped Naruto affectionately on the back. "I would tell you to 'take care', but since you're gonna be with me, you'll be fine," he teased. The Inuzuka teenager nodded at Sasuke and Kakashi, then hugged Sakura. "I _will_ tell you to take care, Sakura. We'll see you on the other side."

Sakura smiled weakly back at him, suddenly wishing they were going to the bar for drinks instead of going on a mission that could bring them to their deaths. "Sounds good, Kiba." She knelt down to bury her hands in Akamaru's shaggy fur and said goodbye to Kiba's furry companion as well. Akamaru yipped and licked her.

"Sakura-san!" Lee called, pulling her to her feet while she inwardly cringed, "My cherry blossom, we _will_ be triumphant and return Iwate to its legendary and honorable leader! I know I am leaving you in good hands, Sakura-san!" His teeth flashed in a grin, and for the thousandth time, Sakura wondered with a touch of envy how he kept his teeth so white and shiny.

She smiled tightly. _I can take care of myself_! "Take care, Lee."

Reluctantly, Sakura cast one bright, cheery smile towards her teammates, closing her eyes against her sudden tears. Never had a mission seemed so utterly hopeless to her, even with the arrival of four friends and fellow shinobi. She felt like this was the end, and sincerely hoped that her intuition was wrong. It was going to be odd, working as a squad without Naruto and Kakashi. She had trained with Neji and Shikamaru before and knew of their skills and prowess, but fighting _alongside_ them was a far different story. Sasuke, too, usually would be seen at the front of a fray, while Sakura, though her punches and chakra control required her to fight at a close range, her most deadly specialty - her skill with genjutsu - required her to be far from a battle for her concentration. Pairing with Shikamaru would be a good idea, while Neji and Sasuke would work off of each other.

She walked over to Shikamaru nodded at him before turning around to gaze longingly at Kakashi and Naruto. Naruto sent a weak smile her way, looking just as lonely and isolated as she felt. Neji placed a hand on her shoulder, a subtle encouragement that he would never voice. Sasuke joined them, his dark eyes glued to the desert ground. He obviously was not happy with the arrangement either.

But there was no time for any more talking; Kakashi walked around, passing out microphones so that Team Alpha and Beta could communicate on the same level. "Make sure to turn the volume down," he added with a roughish wink as they hooked the mikes around their ears.

A voice from their right commanded immediate attention. Lord Igarashi stood there, looking more like the man they had first met than the one they saw after the attack on his people. Once more, his clothing was immaculate, his hair braided down his back. Nothing was out of place except for the graveness in his slightly wrinkled face. "May Kami watch over you and guide you," he said quietly, "Fate is on our side. Evil is not meant to endure, and suffering is meant to be brought to an end. I only wish for the happiness and contentment of my people. And I thank you, shinobi from Konoha, for your help in my endeavor."

The eight shinobi bowed respectfully in return to Lord Igarashi. "We _will_ take Iwate for you," Naruto promised, his blue eyes glittering in his tanned face, "I promise that, Igarashi-san."

-

Sneaking into Iwate was surprisingly - and suspiciously - rather simple. Team Beta was the first to move out, as their goal was to secure the defense tower and unlock the gates to the inner offices of the government district, where Maeno was most likely to be working, according to Igarashi's mysterious contact. They had made it through the first gate of Iwate undetected; the amount of bustling people in the streets hurrying to work made it rather easy to blend in with the crowd, even in their shinobi gear and even with Sakura's rather conspicuous pink hair.

Shikamaru, leading Team Beta, held up a fist: the signal to stop. Sakura crouched down behind a crate, peering around at their surroundings and wondering why they had stopped. Neji too, confused, activated his Byakugan immediately. "Nothing," he whispered, "All clear."

With a nod of the Nara genius' head, Team Beta was on the move again. Sakura fell behind slightly, allowing Sasuke to follow Neji as she took the back of the line. He glanced at her curiously, but anything he was about to say was cut off when Team Beta felt a large chakra signature blossom in the air and stopped dead.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, lighting his cigarette and taking a few deep puffs of it.

"What the hell?" Sakura hissed, hand immediately inching towards her shuriken pouch, "Where are they?"

Neji shook his head furiously. "I don't see anything, but I can _sense _it. The signature must be coming from a distance away. I hope Team ALpha hasn't encountered any trouble yet."

"Team Alpha, come in," Shikamaru muttered into his microphone, "Everything clear over there?"

The communications link was silent for a few moments. Sakura sighed in relief as Kakashi's voice came in. "_We're fine, Beta. Our presence hasn't been detected yet. We're past the first ring of the government district; are you close to the Tower?"_

"Two hundred meters," Sasuke answered, his gaze red with his Sharingan. Sakura glanced over at him; every muscle in his body was tensed and ready to fight. The strong flare of chakra had every hair on her body standing on end, and even Shikamaru was moving his weight from side to side, clearly unsettled. Only Neji remained still, though he too was scouring the area for any trace of the shinobi.

"Shikamaru?" Sakura pressed, "Should we keep going?"

The Nara nodded. "We don't know where that chakra signature came from, but if it hasn't spotted us, then maybe we can avoid whoever it is. Let's just continue and open the gates for Team Alpha, then get the hell out of here."

The three teenagers nodded, then swiftly followed Shikamaru to the tower. They circled the tower twice in an attempt to find an entrance, but there wasn't one. Surprised, Sakura stopped and pressed her hand against the wall of the tower. A strange tingling sensation travelled through her arm and hastily, she yanked it away. "Anti-chakra walls," she whispered angrily, "We can't climb, there are no doors, and the nearest window is too far away. How do we get in?"

Neji had the answer. "Sasuke, climb on my back," he commanded, and surprisingly, the Uchiha nodded without question. "Now, Shikamaru, then Sakura." Using the wall to brace himself, Neji held strong as first Sasuke, then Shikamaru, stood upon his shoulders. With help from Sasuke, Shikamaru climbed up on Sasuke's shoulders. "Sakura, you're next," the Hyuuga grunted.

She pulled a face, then as carefully as she could, hoisted herself up against Neji. "Sorry," she muttered as she accidentally hit his face with her knee. Sakura was forced to grab onto Sasuke or fall over backwards; her face was now pressed into his stomach. Ignoring the sudden fluttering in her stomach and the heat from his body that was seeping into hers, she quickly stood on Sasuke's shoulders as Shikamaru made room for her.

"Okay, Sakura, when you get on my shoulders, you'll be able to grab the window, then pull us up," Sasuke said from underneath her. Sakura was glad that she had not worn her skirt today; she didn't want anything..._embarrassing... _to occur.

Finally, she reached the window, and pulled herself through it, thankful that it was open slightly already. Turning around immediately, she grabbed onto Shikamaru's large hands and yanked the skinny teen through, grabbed onto Sasuke's larger hands after her teammate released Shikamaru and, with help from Shikamaru, managed to pull Sasuke and a slightly disgruntled Hyuuga through the window.

Sakura suddenly frowned. The control room was completely empty.

Shikamaru inspected one of the screens. "That's odd," he commented dryly, "I can't believe that there isn't anyone around."

"Neither can I," Sasuke said, taking out a handful of kunai and crouching down in a defensive position, "Hurry, Nara. I don't like this."

"Hai, hai," the Nara genius sighed lazily, then sat down in one of the chairs and glanced at the vast board in front of him. There were lights and buttons of all colors, as well as some handles that had words such as "Fifth Level" and "Basement" on them. Whatever they were for, Sakura had no idea.

There was silence for a few moments as Shikamaru scrambled to figure out what was what.

Sakura grinned at Neji as he scowled off into the distance, his Byakugan activated. "Oh, come on," she teased quietly, "This'll be a nice change from hanging out at the Hyuuga compound all day!"

She received a small smile from the Hyuuga genius before he turned back to scouting the area to the east of their espionage group. "If you say so, Sakura," he drawled, "We're okay, Nara. All I sense are personnel moving in the building beneath us, and a couple of birds in the rafters across from us." Sakura watched him, fascinated; it was incredible how the Byakugan could be used to see any trace of movement over vast distances!

"Be quiet, you two," Shikamaru snapped from the corner of the room, playing with the controls of the gate, "I'm trying to concentrate." Growling, Shikamaru spit out his cigarette and quickly tapped a series of buttons. One light pinged green- one of the security override passwords had worked!

"Sorry," Sakura whispered back, smiling at her lazy friend. Sasuke, she noticed, looked slightly put-out with the good-natured bickering between them. He obviously hadn't thought that they were comfortable joking around each other, even though he knew they usually practiced together daily. Instead, the Uchiha busied himself with rigging the doorway; if any shinobi came to investigate, charges strong enough to completely knock down the tower would go off. Sakura hoped they were far away if - when - that happened.

Just then, another green light flashed: the second password had accessed the controls to the gate! "Let's go!" Shikamaru commanded, and the four-unit team hurdled out of the tower and back into the dark, endless network of corridors. "Team Alpha! Team Alpha, come in! All clear, I repeat, all clear! Gate controls activated and unlocked! The inner chambers are open! All exits to Iwate are also blocked! Team Beta to destination point two!"

_"Thanks for the heads up, Beta,"_ Kakashi muttered over the communications link, _"Alpha is now heading to destination point one. Be advised, enemy shinobi have been spotted heading to your location-"_

"Time to leave!" Neji cried, slamming open a door and hastily scanning the corridor for any signs of life or traps, "Alpha, I repeat, Beta now heading to destination two! How many are headed our way?"

The communications link went mysteriously silent.

For five minutes, all Sakura saw was door after door. _What could all these rooms be used for?_ she thought. Then, a faint trace of _something_ pricked her awareness. "Stop!" Sakura cried, flinging her arm out. Sasuke collided into her, and she was shoved forward a couple of feet with the force of his body hitting hers. Sakura was forced to grab onto his shoulder to steady herself as he grabbed her wrist to avoid falling over. "Genjutsu!" It was only then they realized that they had been holding onto each other; Sasuke shoved her away, his cheeks tinged red.

Shikamaru immediately began the release seals. "Kai!" he shouted, and with a gust of air, the dark gloom left the corridor and the illusions dissolved. Instead of the hallways filled with office rooms, they had emerged into the mess hall, and what looked like a dining room to the right.

"Where are we?" Neji grumbled, already surveying the surrounding area.

Sakura frowned. "I think we're back near the inner part of the building. Wait... I recognize the hall from Igarashi-san's description! Dammit, we've gone too far! We need to head west; his chambers are that way!"

Again, they took to flight, retracing their steps at an alarming speed for any civilian. Mere moments later, Neji halted them. "There! Through that corridor!"

"Hang on!" Sasuke called, grabbing Neji's arm as he moved to pass him, "I'll check the courtyard and secure it; we could be walking into a trap!"

Sakura growled. "Shikamaru, go with Sasuke! We have no time to waste! Neji, c'mon, let's go!"

With a nod, Shikamaru and Sasuke separated from them and ran down the opposite corridor. She watched them go, hoping that they would not walk straight into an ambush of Maeno's men. Then again, she hoped that her and Neji didn't walk into a trap either.

"Wait," Neji said when they reached the gold gilded door at the end of the vast hallway. Sakura frowned and glanced at him, but then immediately complied as the Hyuuga, his Byagukan activated, threw a kunai at the door, an exploding tag flailing along behind it. A split second later, there was a flash of light and the sound of wood splintering as the door was blasted into oblivion. Uncovering her eyes, Sakura kicked away the remains of the door and entered the room, kunai in one hand and chakra forming a second blade in her other hand. Neji was right behind her.

But when the dust finally cleared, all Sakura saw were expensive furnishings, an oversized, canopy bed and a now destroyed, dark chest that had blocked the door. Maeno had disappeared. A second glance at the armoire in the far right corner told Sakura that their prey had scrambled around for his belongings, for an empty katana scabbard and a few pieces of paper were all that remained.

"He was here," Neji growled, kicking away a piece of wood that lay in his path, "He ran."

"Where did he go?" Sakura asked frantically, racing over to another door and kicking it open. She was hoping to find another exit to the long corridors, but only found an empty bathroom. "Dammit!"

While Sakura kicked around in the bathroom, Neji was surveying the building with his Byakugan. "I sense him, but its faint. I can't tell where he is going, but I know where he _was! _He must have cloaked his chakra signature. I can still sense him, but only just. Like a whisper."

Just then, Shikamaru and Sasuke burst into the room, out of breath. "The courtyard was clean," Sasuke panted, brushing hair back from his eyes, "Did you find anything here?"

Sakura shook her head, and Shikamaru sighed. "Nothing."

"Well, what do we do now?"

Neji's question was suddenly answered.

_"Team Beta, can you hear me?"_ Kakashi called over the microphone, the speaker crackling and popping, _"The financial district was clean, but Sound shinobi have blocked our way; six have stayed to stall us, and six others went with Maeno! They are headed to the West Gate! Transportation is waiting for him there to get him out of Iwate! Dammit! You need to take him down! What- oh shit! Naruto, I need-"_

The message cut out and turned to static.

Sakura turned to stare imploringly at Shikamaru. "We can't just _leave_ Kakashi and the others there without backup!" she cried, "I know finding Maeno is our priority, but those who don't help their teammates are worse than trash!"

The Nara genius pinched the bridge of his nose and clenched his eyes tightly shut. Sakura was silent, knowing he was trying to come up with an idea that would work for this situation; she glanced over at Sasuke and Neji, who were standing still, waiting for orders. Sasuke looked over at her and gently, awkwardly, placed his hand on her shoulder. "Kakashi and Naruto are strong, and Lee and Kiba aren't pushovers either. We're not leaving without them, I promise, Sakura."

Shikamaru's eyes snapped open. "Sasuke, you and I will go find Team Alpha," he snapped decisively, his dark eyes hard and sharp, "Sakura, you and Neji will track Maeno. You will need the Byakugan to help, and you two are best matched in terms of your fighting styles. As soon as Team Alpha is free, we will join up with you and find Maeno Montaro together. Do _not_ take on Maeno yourselves. Understood?"

The three nodded, but no one moved yet.

Sakura wrapped her arms around Shikamaru and hugged him tightly. "You be careful, you lazy arse," she whispered teasingly, "Or I _will_ tell Ino about your so-called heroics."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Maa maa, she'd kill me. Remember what _I_ told you." _Always wait for your opponent to make the first move_. With a nod to Neji, he turned around, clapped Sasuke on the back, and then snuck out of Maeno's chambers into the next corridor to scan the area while Sasuke said his goodbyes.

Hands firmly grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, and when Sakura looked up, she met the blood-red irises of the Sharingan. "Sakura," Sasuke murmured, staring down at her, "Be careful." His dark eyes despite the Sharingan, she noticed, were unnaturally warm and steady.

She smiled up at him, though it wavered slightly. "I've got Neji with me, I'll be fine."

Sasuke intently searched her face, his grip on her shoulders loosening ever so slightly. "If anything happens to you..." he began softly, lowering his face close to hers, "I'll bring you back and kill you myself, you infuriating woman!" And then he captured her lips in a heated kiss. Sakura, stunned, merely allowed him to kiss her for a few moments before she regained her bearings and slowly kissed him back. He crushed her against him, her chest and stomach tightly pressed against his. She felt fire wherever her skin hit his, savoring every moment of it and storing it away to remember for always. It was like a blanket of warmth slipped over her at his touch.

"Sasuke..." This was... what she had always wanted. But the feel of the kiss was bittersweet; this was it, the end of the mission. It either ended in victory...or in failure. This could be their last moment together...forever. This kiss didn't feel like a beginning to something else...it felt like a goodbye.

She wasn't aware of the tears that had flooded her cheeks until Sasuke broke the kiss. He glanced down at her encouragingly, his eyes conveying what his face didn't as a rough thumb brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. "Don't cry," he murmured awkwardly.

"Sakura," a voice interrupted them sharply, and Neji appeared in the doorway. "We have to go," the Hyuuga added gently as he took in their disheveled appearance and proximity. Sasuke looked over at Neji, and some understanding must have passed between them, for Neji nodded once, his eyes grim.

"Sasuke!" she choked out after a tense moment, "Take care of yourself!"

With one last, swift kiss, Sasuke released her and followed Shikamaru around the corridor, disappearing into the darkness. Sakura stared after him for long moments after he was gone for sight, unable to command her body to move. "Kami," she whispered heatedly, "We can't lose!" She squeezed her eyes shut against the new torrent of tears that threatened to erupt.

"Come," the Hyuuga said again, steering her away from the corridor, "Sakura, we have to go. Don't worry, we'll see them again." Obediently, Sakura allowed him to lead her to the end of the corridor where the halls took a sharp left turn. She hoped his words weren't empty promises. With a growing pain in her stomach from a mixture of fear and hope, Sakura followed Neji, hurdling down the murky corridors after her teammate while her heart went with Sasuke in the opposite direction.

"We can't lose."

-

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews! You guys are great!**

**So, finally, Sasuke stops resisting Sakura's charm! About time, right? The tension was nearly unbearable for me to write. :D**

**I kinda lied when I said this chapter was gonna be ALL action... I hope its got enough for you! The invasion begins, but Team 7 gets separated into two squads! I decided that Kakashi, as the most experienced shinobi there, would lead one of the teams while Shikamaru would lead the other. **

**Any comments on the Avatar finale? I was kinda hoping the story line would shift to Zutara, but I guess having the world safe and sound is good enough! And does ANYONE know what happened to Zuko's mother? The story ended before he could find her! Gah! You think all the loose strings are gonna be tied off, then BAM! The end.**

**Heh, enough of an author's rant. Please, read and review!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY**: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke **never** left Konoha and **never** attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did **NOT** attack the Hokage Sarutobi with Orochimaru, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru **did** manage to kill the Sandaime, so **Tsunade is now Godaime**. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, Tenten and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story. **Akatsuki is NOT involved, so Itachi and the other misfits of the gang will NOT be in this story.**

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!

-

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

-

They ran.

Sakura followed Neji blindly as she fought to compose herself, trusting the Hyuuga to be alert and ready as they snuck into back alleyways and over the rooftops of the nearby buildings and around the shops and people, racing against time to get to the Western Gate. Her pink hair whipped her face, catching in between her lips that she kept rewetting with her tongue, a rather nervous tick she had never been able to break.

Her heart wasn't with her but with Sasuke; she prayed silently to Kami that everyone would make it out of Iwate alive.

Everyone except Maeno.

About ten minutes later, Sakura shook her head fiercely and raised her gaze, fixing it on Neji's back. She needed to stay focused, she needed to concentrate. There was too much at stake for her not to be in her best fighting state, too much that could happen if Iwate was never re-conquered. Not only would her team and friends suffer, but the people of Iwate would as well. She had not seen one _smile_ when Team Beta was sneaking in, not one. There had been no talking and laughter in the air, just sadness and anger.

And it was all due to Maeno Montaro.

Picking up speed, she followed the Hyuuga genius into one of the office buildings that lay in their path. It was... empty. Their footsteps resonated against the walls, every sound echoing in the surprisingly empty void. But where was everyone? It must be close to 9 AM; where were all the employees?

"Sakura," Neji called out suddenly, grabbing onto her when she continued to sail past him, "The chakra signature is back! Do you feel it?"

Oh yes she did.

The chakra was like a malevolent fire that bled through the walls; the strength of the signature was so strong that her own chakra started to coil and bubble dangerously within her. Sakura, angry, forced it to continue its circulation around her body. Control over it might save their lives. Her mind raced out of control; who could it be? Who had that amount of power? There were only a couple handfuls of shinobi like this in the world. One was Kakashi, another was Jiraiya. Even Naruto's chakra was vast and powerful. But this wasn't familiar, nor comforting. It was... wrong.

"I feel it," she whispered back, "What should we do?"

But the Hyuuga didn't answer right away; he had his Byakugan trained down the corridor. One hand was slipping into his weapons pouch, the other touching the small button that would open the communications link with Team Alpha. "I don't think we can do this by ourselves," he admitted quietly, "I think I know who it is."

"Who?" Sakura demanded, the hair on the back of her neck prickling unpleasantly.

"I'm...I'm not certain, but I think it is Kabuto."

"Why the hell would _he_ be-" But then it hit Sakura like a brick wall. Maeno Montaro was a _Sound_ shinobi, therefore under Orochimaru's allegiance. A sinking feeling suddenly settled in her stomach. "Oh Kami..." If Orochimaru was here, things would become a lot more serious than they already were! It was bad enough trying to find and kill Maeno, but with Kabuto and Orochimaru _also_ present, there wasn't going to be much that eight Konoha shinobi would be able to accomplish, no matter how skilled they were. The odds were against them. _Again._

"Are you sure?" Sakura hissed back, and the bad feeling in her gut only intensified as Neji nodded.

"Positive."

"Team Alpha, do you read me?" Sakura whispered over the comm link, "Team Alpha!"

"_What is it, Beta?"_ Shikamaru called back, "_Did you find Maeno Montaro?"_

"Negative," Neji snarled, "We need help, as soon as possible! We've run in to Kabuto Yakushi."

"_What?"_ she heard Naruto yelp over the link, "_Kabuto? Are you serious, Neji? Does that mean that-"_

_"The enemy nins have been taken care of,"_ Kakashi informed them, his cool voice sounding very strained as he interrupted Naruto, "_We're coming to your position. If Kabuto sees you, try to stall him; we're on our way."_

The link closed off.

Sakura sighed in an attempt to calm her body down. Her pulse was racing, sweat dripping down the small of her back. She shivered from the sensation, but she was focused entirely on the chakra signature. The signature had halted, flickered slightly, then expanded rapidly. Kabuto had sensed them.

"This just went from bad to worse," Sakura muttered in frustration.

"Agreed," Neji replied darkly, "C'mon, he knows we're here. We might as well begin."

They simultaneously took a deep breath, then walked out into the open courtyard of the building. The sunlight blinded them momentarily, but when their eyes adjusted, Neji's suspicions were confirmed. Sakura barely managed not to turn right back around. This was one rematch she had never wanted to occur again.

It was Kabuto.

The traitor to Konoha lounged disinterestedly against one of the pillars , inspecting the chakra blade forming in his hands. "Hello," he greeted them pleasantly, though his dark grey eyes were anything but pleasant, "So we've finally run into one another. But where are the other two on your little squad?"

"Who cares?" Sakura retorted angrily, carefully taking out the senbon that were dipped in the sedative, hoping that Kabuto would have trouble breaking down the sedative if and when she hit him. "Why are _you_ here?"

"What, not happy to see me again?" Kabuto asked, getting to his feet lazily and stretching nonchalantly, "After all, we worked together during the Chuunin exams. That makes us acquaintances, if not friends. Is this how you talk to your friends?"

"You're a traitor, not a friend," Neji answered for her, settling into his Jyuuken stance, "You proved that when you attacked Konoha five years ago."

"How time flies." Kabuto, obviously done with talking, walked casually over to their left to pick up his weapons pouch. "I guess you're not here to reminisce. That's too bad. So I guess that leaves us to fight." His index finger pushed his sliding glasses back onto the bridge of his nose, the glare hiding his eyes completely for a second or two.

"Why are you here?" Sakura repeated, eyes glued on his hands. _Opponent makes the first move, opponent makes the first move_ was repeating again and again in her head like a mantra. She sincerely hoped that all her skills in medical ninjutsu would help her against this master. Even Tsunade-sama had nearly been bested by Kabuto; how would they fare until Team Alpha with Shikamaru and Sasuke showed up?

Kabuto mock sighed. "I thought you were the brains of Team 7, Sakura-chan? No? No idea?" His grin sent shivers up and down her spine, it was so menacing and... inhuman. "We're here for your precious Sasuke-kun. Orochimaru wants him as his new project, his new student. He is here to make the offer for the second time. It would be most unwise of the Uchiha to turn us down again, for Orochimaru promises him power."

"If he didn't go with you the first time, what makes you think he will now?" Neji snarled, throwing himself at Kabuto.

"Neji!" Sakura cried as one of the chakra scalpels Kabuto wielded came far too close to the Hyuuga's abdomen than she liked. With an internal huff of frustration, Sakura threw herself into the fray. Twisting around the Sound nin's incoming fist, she threw Neji out of the way as the second chakra scalpel descended. Her eyes widened as she realized there was no way to stop the incoming blade... wait, there was! Chakra with chakra!

As quickly as she could, Sakura gathered chakra into her hands and grabbed the blade.

For a few moments, Sakura was afraid to open her eyes.

But there was no pain, only an interesting tingling sensation. Opening her emerald eyes, Sakura grinned when she saw that she had actually blocked the blade. Even Kabuto looked surprised, though he quickly hid it. "Ahh," he said, "I guess the Hokage _has_ taken you in as an apprentice. Huh. I won't underestimate you again."

He pulled back to strike again, but Neji quickly took the chance and leapt in behind the traitor to Konoha, effectively closing off chakra flow in his left arm. Kabuto hissed angrily and jabbed instead with a kunai, managing to catch the Hyuuga across the chest.

"Neji!"

A sudden kick to her stomach threw her back against the stone floor of the courtyard. The pain was immense, but Sakura was more worried about the Hyuuga lying a couple of feet away, struggling to get to his feet. "C'mon," she murmured to herself as she fought to drag herself up, "Playtime is over." But her body failed to move.

Oh Kami, this was bad. Neji was bleeding profusely, Kabuto showed no sign of weakness and her ability to halt his attacks had just been a fluke. He wouldn't dare to go easy on them now, especially with Orochimaru's goal of abducting Sasuke so close to its completion. Sakura sincerely hoped that Sasuke wouldn't agree to go to Orochimaru for the power he offered, for although she knew he cared about his team - and probably always had but just couldn't show it - Sasuke would not rest until Itachi lay dead.

Kabuto was watching her as she debated what to do with a wicked gleam in his eye. "I hit you with my _Chakra Kyuuin no Jutsu_. I just removed half your stores of chakra. That's why your body is failing to respond to what your brain is telling your muscles to do. Don't worry, you'll regain movement in a couple of minutes, your body just has to adjust to the loss. I'll wait for you." He grinned at his metaphor.

Her breath caught in her throat as Neji slumped onto his back and ceased moving. "No!" she growled at Kabuto, helpless, "You sick bastard!" The tingling in her entire body caused her to grit her teeth and pant to regain her breath; the pain was unusual and excruciatingly annoying. Despite the lack of control over her body, her mind was working overtime. What could she do? One wrong move and Neji would be dead. He was just only hanging onto consciousness and there was no way he could defend himself.

Alpha better be close, or she and Neji would be dead. Damn it! Where was Naruto when she needed him?!

Reaching deep inside herself as inspiration suddenly hit her, Sakura grabbed tendrils of pure chakra and directed them through her limbs. The pain was tolerable as she healed the damage done to her chakra pathways enough to regain movement in her body. She fling her recuperating body to Neji and gathered more chakra in her hand, allowing it to seep through his torn and bloody shirt and knit muscle and flesh together.

There. Now they could finish Kabuto together.

Kabuto clapped his hands mockingly. "I wondered how long it would take you to figure out what to do. No matter. We'll finish this, fair and square."

Neji stirred under her hands, his pale eyes settling on her face. He opened his mouth to say something, looking thoroughly confused, but then pushed himself into a sitting position to glare at Kabuto angrily. "You'll never get Uchiha. You won't even get to leave this courtyard."

His only response was a toothy, mirthless grin.

The skills of all the Hyuuga Clan members were not to be taken lightly. Despite being only eighteen, Neji was an exceptional shinobi. Unlike Sakura's hotheaded teammates, Neji's unemotional, detached approach to battling other shinobi was advantageous. He hardly ever lost his temper in a fight, while those who did go up against him eventually would for his seemingly apathetic nature. So when Neji slipped on his Koh face and began to fight, Sakura knew that Kabuto would be hard pressed to find an opening.

Sakura watched intently as Neji began his first attack sequence. It wasn't his most powerful attack, merely a test against Kabuto's strength and speed. His dark hair escaped its tie and flew around his face as the two ninja seized each other up for the second time, Neji jabbing here and there and Kabuto parrying his attacks and returning some of his own. But when, by sheer luck, Neji was able to connect with a well-known chakra pathway and close off the circulation to Kabuto's arm, Sakura knew her time had come.

With a roar of fury, Sakura threw herself into the fray. She rushed at Kabuto, throwing a flurry of kicks and punches his way in an attempt to distract him from Neji's powerful chakra counterattacks. If they could take out the majority of the Sound shinobi's chakra pathways, then they would have taken away one of his most powerful weapons: his medical ninjutsu prowess. But Kabuto was able to block all of her attacks, even going so far as to land a hit that threw her back a couple of feet.

Grimacing in discomfort, Sakura grabbed a kunai in her hand; in the other she held her senbon, tip just pointing out from in between her fingers. The kunai and the sudden flare of chakra in her hand would be distraction enough, and if Kami was on her side, the sedative dipped senbon would definitely slow down Kabuto.

Neji, having worked with her for so long, knew of her plan immediately. "Now, Sakura!" he cried, grabbing onto Kabuto's arm and wrenching him around.

As quickly as she could, Sakura created a clone of herself. While the clone rushed to Kabuto, an obvious attack, Sakura snuck around behind him.

Kabuto hesitated for a split second, caught between keeping his eyes fixed on Neji or Sakura, both who appeared to be in the beginning of an attack sequence. Neji's hand hit the side of the nin's face, knocking off his glasses and sending them many feet away, shattered and now completely useless.

Sakura used that one second that Neji bought them well. Scrambling behind the shinobi, she jammed her hidden senbon deep into the muscles of his neck.

With a roar of fury, Kabuto knocked her clone away from him will a well-aimed blow to her leg. The clone disappeared with a _poof_. But that appeared to be the shinobi's last attack, for he too dropped to the ground, panting as he ripped out the senbon. A small rivulet of blood ran free, streaming down his neck and pooling in the collar of his shirt.

Neji landed beside her near the edge of the courtyard, his pearly white eyes fixated on Kabuto. "Good job," he whispered to her softly.

"Thanks for the opportunity," Sakura joked back lightly, then jumped to her feet in panic as she sensed multiple chakra signatures coming closer and closer at a break-neck speed. A split second later she relaxed; it was Team Alpha!

But Kabuto wasn't done. With alarming speed the grey haired man launched himself at them, one kunai clenched tightly in his usable hand, intent to connect with their bodies. Sakura hastily threw herself out of his path and whipped around as he sailed on by. Knowing that she had no other choice, she gripped her own kunai and slammed it down into his spine. With a agonizing cry of pain, Kabuto crumpled to the ground and lay still. His soft moans of pain were the only indication that he was alive.

Neji stood before him, his shoulders tensed. "What did you have to gain by coming here?!" he demanded angrily.

When Kabuto failed to answer, Neji kicked him over onto his back. Orochimaru's ally wheezed in agony, hands clenched into fists, though he took another deep breath and said hoarsely, "I had everything to gain. And nothing at all. It depends... depends on how you... see it..."

"Is Orochimaru here?"

Kabuto smiled, his teeth smeared with blood. "Heh... looks like you'll have to wait and find out, ne?"

"Sakura-chan! Neji!" Naruto shouted as soon as he, Kakashi, Kiba and Lee came barreling into the courtyard, racing over to wrap his arms around her and crush her to him, "Thank Kami!" His face was covered in scratches and blood; looking him over hurriedly, Sakura deemed that none of his injuries were life threatening, though most of the gashes on his arms looked painful.

One, two, three...four. "Where... where is Sasuke? Where's Shikamaru?!" Sakura cried to Kakashi desperately, already fearing the worst. _Please Kami, please... let him be safe..._

"We ran into more Sound-nin on our way here," Kiba informed her, trying to catch his breath, "Once Sasuke heard you guys were up against Kabuto, he told us to go while Shikamaru stayed for backup. They'll be here soon. Then we'll regroup and capture Maeno."

Kabuto choked up a mouthful of blood. It splattered down his lips and chin, and it took a moment for Sakura to realize that the odd gurgling sound emerging from the dying Sound shinobi was _laughter_. "You think you have it all figured out, little Konoha shinobi? You can't _fathom_ how deep this goes. Sasuke _will_ seek Orochimaru eventually; its only a matter of time. I will tell you a secret, though..."

"What?" they asked.

"I was Igarashi's contact... I _allowed_ you to get into Iwate without coming across any guards... Orochimaru decided that putting Maeno Montaro into power here would be the best way to attract Konoha shinobi, since Sand and Leaf formed an alliance three years ago. And you walked right into the trap laid out for you. Orochimaru wanted Sasuke as a student... but he also planned for you all to die here... Just like I planned to die here. For my freedom... Keep Sasuke from Orochimaru at all costs..." Before they knew what the silver haired man was doing, he pressed one finger to a small button attached to a wristband on his left arm. The button beeped once, then was silent. Kabuto slumped listlessly against the stone pillar as the life fled from his body.

Kakashi let out a long, drawn out sigh into the silence. He closed his eyes briefly, deep in thought; the others knew not to disturb him.

Sakura stiffly sat down and wrapped her arms around her legs, still trying to catch her breath. She felt lucky to be alive and unscathed after facing off with Orochimaru's second in command. But Sasuke and Shikamaru were all alone... and Orochimaru wanted him. But Kabuto... what did he mean when he said he had planned to die? He _allowed_ them to kill him? To release him from what prison? Orochimaru's control? Had Kabuto really been on their side the entire time? He had been toying with them, taunting them... and now he said to keep Sasuke safe?!

"We need to find them," Lee voiced, his face unusually grave, "If what Kabuto says is true, then Sasuke-san will not be safe with just help from Shikamaru-san."

Naruto nodded vehemently, "C'mon, bushy-brows is right! Kaka-sensei, we need to find them, _now!"_

"Our top priority is finding Maeno Montaro," Neji cut across, face impassive as he crossed his arms.

Sakura felt her temper flare at his indifference, even though the small, cool and collected side of her mind knew he was right. "I don't care," she growled furiously, though her voice remained even despite her anger, "Finding Sasuke is just as important to stopping Maeno and possibly finding Orochimaru. Orochimaru wants Sasuke, and won't leave without him. And Maeno will risk everything to bring Sasuke to Orochimaru. Kabuto even said that Orochimaru offers power. Well, he'll definitely get it that way."

Naruto growled and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Dammit," he cursed under his breath, then straightened up abruptly and pressed his finger to the communications link. "Sasuke, Shikamaru, do you read me?!"

"We don't have time to waste!" Neji shouted, "We need to get to the Western Gate!"

"Find Sasuke and you find Maeno," Kiba retorted, one hand fisted in Akamaru's long, shaggy hair, "That's the only way that we'll win."

Finally, the comm link clicked back. _"We're on our way to your location,"_ Sasuke yelled over the comm, _"Are Sakura and the Hyuuga alright?"_

Sakura's heart skipped a couple of beats in relief. They were alright!

"They're fine," Kakashi called back, "Hang on, Sasuke. We're heading to the Western Gate now; meet up with us halfway, we don't have time to wait."

"_Understood,"_ Shikamaru replied, and then the line cut out.

"Okay," Kakashi stated, looking each of them in the eye briefly. Sakura nodded at him when his gaze passed over her. "This is what we're going to do. Kiba and Akamaru, you're up front; since you have Maeno's scent, you can lead us right to him. Lee, you're second, followed by Neji. Sakura, you'll follow Neji, while Naruto and I will take the rear." His tone hardened, leaving no room for exceptions. "If we run into trouble, Naruto and I will stay behind and stop them. You _have_ to catch up to Maeno, understand? We can handle it, but you four will meet up with Shikamaru and Sasuke on the way and find Maeno. He'll have bodyguards with him no doubt, so be careful and be a team player. No heroics. Got it?"

"Hai!" they chorused. Lee even saluted, much to Kiba and Naruto's amusement.

And then they were off. Sakura followed Neji just as he followed Lee and Kiba and Akamaru as they sniffed through the air for any trace of Maeno. With a loud yelp Akamaru lunged forward, obviously on his trail. The six Konoha shinobi ran as fast as they could, delving into precious chakra stores to concentrate it at the bottom of their heels to further increase their speed so they had a chance to make it to Maeno.

But just as Kabuto had promised, there was trouble waiting for them.

-

Ten minutes ago Kakashi and Naruto fell back to distract the three Sound shinobi that they met in the deep labyrinths that Kiba and Akamaru led them through. Sakura raced on with Lee, Kiba and Neji towards their destination, hoping for what could be the hundredth time that day that all of her friends survived this battle.

"We're close," Kiba snarled back to them, "Maeno's scent is strong. But he's not alone!"

"I didn't expect this would be easy," Neji muttered from ahead of her darkly, causing Sakura to chuckle weakly.

"We can do it!" Lee cried in determination, aiming a overzealous punch for emphasis, "Konoha youth will prevail!"

The four nodded and turned to continue their desperate hunt. Neji, Byakugan activated, sighed in relief as he glanced behind them, "Sasuke and Shikamaru are running to us from about a mile away; we'll meet up with them in this corridor."

"Too late!" Kiba yelled, skidding to a halt, "We've got him. We found him! Quickly, mask your chakra signatures!"

Sakura felt chills run up and down her spine as she locked her chakra deep inside her body. This was it. This was what they had been fighting for. If they failed... then all of Iwate would be lost, as well as Sasuke. Kabuto had even stated that they had been lured here to their deaths. Orochimaru didn't want Sasuke's old teammates tempting him to stay in Konoha, he would destroy them if he could! Cut off all bonds, all friendship... make Sasuke alone. Then, and only then would the third Sannin's goal be completed.

"Kakashi, come in," she breathed into the microphone, "Naruto, Kakashi, we've got Maeno trapped in the next courtyard. Sasuke and Shikamaru are on their way, but we need you _now."_

"_Okay, Sakura-chan,"_ Naruto called back over the link, "_Hang on, we're on our way. How many shinobi does Maeno have under him?"_

"Neji?" she asked, and the Hyuuga nodded.

"Twelve shinobi," Neji replied after a moment, "And when you get here, twelve against six."

Lee inched closer to the doorway and peered around it. "Wait," he whispered urgently, "It looks like Maeno is falling back! He's leaving his shinobi to finish us off!"

Kiba sneered unpleasantly. "He really thinks that they will be able to?" With a bark of agreement, Akamaru sat down and waited for his master to give the command to attack.

"Kakashi!" Sakura began to call over the communications link again, "Maeno-"

But a sudden noise behind them interrupted her. There stood Kakashi and Naruto, both clearly winded as they slid into the shadows beside them. She looked them over critically, searching for any wounds that they might have acquired. Both men looked healthy though, just a little out of breath. Naruto smiled at her as he noticed her scrutiny. "I'm fine, Sakura-chan," he panted, giving her a thumbs-up.

She grinned. "Hai, hai!"

They all quieted down after that; the _feel_ of the enemy just waiting for them in the next room was unnerving and exhilarating at the same time. Sakura itched to charge in there and have done with it, but she knew that going up against twelve shinobi would need some kind of planning. She glanced up and then smiled. Over the next courtyard, where the enemy was waiting, was a large supportive beam of stone that was just begging to be crushed into bits over their heads. And possibly Sakura could cause the entire stone roof to cave in and crush any unlucky shinobi caught in its way.

She poked Kakashi in the shoulder to get his attention, then gestured to the large beam. "I'm going to crush them," she whispered, a feral grin spreading across her lips.

"Okay," Kakashi said quietly after a few moments of silence, "Everyone ready? Hang back until the dust clears."

They all nodded their affirmative.

Carefully, Sakura jumped up and grabbed the top of the archway to haul herself up. She couldn't risk concentrating chakra to the bottom of her feet or the enemy would sense her and any chance of this bold plan working would go down the drain. Pulling her body up and into the rafters of the courtyard, Sakura glanced down; Neji was right, there were twelve. And the mean-looking shinobi carrying the scythe was from the attack in the cave! He must be the head of the twelve-man squad... or the captain of any commanders...

Not wanting to waste any more time, Sakura carefully made her way through the shadows towards the large rock holding up the framework of the courtyard. Worst come to worst, her plan would backfire and crush _her_ in the rubble. But that would only happen if she crushed the beam from the wrong direction... so where to hit it?

Suddenly one of the shinobi ten feet underneath her sprang to his feet and whipped out his shuriken. "There's someone there!" he shouted to his comrades, peering intently in Sakura's direction.

It was now or never.

Focusing the chakra into her fist, Sakura recoiled her arm and hit the stone beam as hard as she could, letting out a bloodcurdling war cry as she did so. The stone crumbled, then shattered completely, and the stone fixated above it groaned as it shook and then fell to the ground as large boulders. Cries of pain and surprise echoed below her in the destroyed courtyard. But the enemy didn't have any more time to react, as Naruto led the way in with five clones. When the dust finally cleared, Sakura was happy to see that only nine Sound mercenaries remained. Three, it appeared, had been unable to move out of the way as the gravel crushed them to their deaths.

Sakura grinned, fixed her gloves more securely on her hands, then jumped down to join the fray. The dust hadn't cleared out of the way entirely, and the amount of it still lingering in the stale air made her eyes burn. But the unimportant pain was instantly forgotten as the telltale _whoosh_ of shuriken sounded from behind her. Throwing herself to the ground, Sakura looked up; the shuriken had missed her by inches, but the shinobi who had spotted her earlier advanced quickly, a katana already in his hand.

Ducking under the shinobi's first swing, Sakura pulled back her arm and hit him hard in the stomach with as much chakra she could put into her kunai. She sighed in relief as the man fell to the ground, clutching a mortal wound in his abdomen made from her kunai. "That was too easy," she grinned to herself. Looking up briefly at the flare of two new chakra signatures, Sakura smiled: Sasuke and Shikamaru were here!

"Sakura! No!"

The shrill, inhuman snarl of Sasuke's yell caused Sakura's heart to stop. She hesitated in her attack combination with the enemy shinobi just long enough for another shinobi to fling her back against the ground with a chakra-enhanced kick that connected with a sickening _crack_. Sakura felt her ribs snap in the impact, and with a guttural cry of pain, slammed against a very solid, unmoving mass of brick wall. She was unable to do anything more than scream her agony and settle in a mass of tangled, aching limbs.

Then Shikamaru's hands were on her, grasping her close as Sasuke cornered Maeno's bodyguard. The world spun around her, and the sudden yank of gravity against the lazy genius' hands caused her to groan in pain. She couldn't be out of the fight, they needed her! But her chakra was too low to heal herself enough to fight right now. She was out of commission, though if she admitted it to herself, the pain was too intense to even concentrate on healing herself if she had the chakra to use.

She could feel Shikamaru stay close to her side as she lay, immobile and quiet, on the ground, fighting off unconsciousness and trying to conserve her energy. It was a battle in itself to keep her eyes open and focused on the Nara genius as he fought in front of her. For them. For her...

Her right arm slowly inched down to the pouch on her leg. Slipping a hand inside, she gingerly searched for the small bottle, and when she found it, withdrew her arm with a cry of pain. Sakura tipped off the lid, took out one of her last soldier pills and swallowed it, waiting with bated breath for her energy to return.

"No one will have to save me," she muttered furiously as she recovered her strength and her chakra levels blossomed. With deft hands, she set her broken ribs easily and then stood, binding her chest tightly only seconds later despite the searing pain. "I will _not_ be a burden!"

Shikamaru grinned at her. "Kami, Sakura, calm down, you'll scare Maeno away."

But Sakura was not in the mood for teasing. She wanted his blood for what he had done. She never took pleasure in killing, but she would not miss that bastard! And she wanted to be the one who brought him down! For putting both the people of Iwate and her friends in danger, she would take her revenge from him. But where was the bloody coward?

A large chakra signature suddenly blossomed into being, and despite her outward confidence, inside she was slightly wary. Though by no means as large or powerful as Kabuto's had been, this one was chillingly cold. The fighting ceased as the signature grew, both her teammates and the Sound Hunter-nin looking around for its source, temporarily forgetting about fighting one another. With this pause, Sakura took a moment to gaze around; the seven Konoha shinobi all appeared healthy and able-bodied. The most injuries were carried by Naruto, but they were only superficial cuts all over his body. Besides, looking closely, the flesh already seemed to be knitting back together, courtesy of the Kyuubi. Kakashi-sensei ran a close second; his mask was hanging on by a mere thread, and though Sakura wished to gloat that she had seen his face, she knew now wasn't the time. Lee and Kiba appeared to be in tip top shape; she couldn't see any cuts on them at all. Neji sported a large cut on his forearm that bled profusely, but it didn't seem to be paining him as he flexed it this way and that.

Shikamaru and Sasuke, new to the battle, were more than ready to go. While the enemy nin hesitated, they swept in, swift and efficient killing machines. Within seconds, three of the Sound-nin fell and died instantly. The remaining shinobi gave a cry of fury and attacked once more, but a quick _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ from Naruto effectively occupied them. Minutes later, all of Maeno Montaro's bodyguards were dead.

Echoing footsteps drew their attention. From the darkness of the corridor came the silhouette of a large man, walking slowly towards them. He was about six feet tall with dark blond hair pulled back in a severe top knot. A small mustache on his upper lip accentuated the hard, ugly angles of his face, and judging from the wrinkles framing his eyes and aristocratic mouth, he was in his early forties. Maeno Montaro.

"Well well," he said in a deep, scratchy voice, "What do we have here?" His icy blue eyes landed on Sasuke and immediately drew in the Uchiha Clan symbol. "Ahh, Sasuke. I'm glad you're here; saves me the trouble of hunting you down. I guess Kabuto failed. The stupid whelp."

Sasuke laughed. "And here you assume I'll go with you without a fuss. That I actually _want_ to join Orochimaru."

Maeno's smile was frightening as he took out two large swords. "We'll see." More shadows came from the darkness following Maeno; there were five left. Six against eight. Sakura let out a low breath. The odds were on their side, but due to Maeno's large chakra reserve, he would be much harder to beat than Kabuto, but then again, Kabuto hadn't even really tried. He _wanted_ to die here... and he would have been killed anyway if Orochimaru had found out he allowed them into the city undetected. Suddenly Sakura felt a sickening feeling in her stomach; Kabuto had been playing devil's advocate. He took neither side and both sides at the same time. He had helped them...

Kakashi turned to look at them over his shoulder. "Stay back," he commanded, "I'll handle Maeno. You take his sidekicks."

Sakura watched feverishly as Kakashi raised his forehead protector from over his Sharingan. For a few moments, nothing happened. Only when they didn't move for an entire minute did she realize that Maeno must be caught in a genjutsu. But just as Sakura realized it, the five shinobi fanned out behind Maeno realized it. They rushed forward together to Kakashi and were just about to strike when Shikamaru, Kiba and Akamaru leapt into the fray. Two of the nin's were caught in Shikamaru's _Shadow Bind Jutsu,_ completely unable to move. Kiba quickly killed them and turned to the remaining three with Akamaru at his side. The oversized canine ducked under a shower of kunai and jumped on one, killing him instantly with a well-placed bite to the jugular.

The shinobi with the scythe was taken out by an enraged Naruto and his clone. The clone threw the bodyguard into the wall, crushing his body; the shinobi lay unconscious as blood flowed out of his body and pooled underneath him. Naruto killed him mercifully, ending the pain. The unfortunate remaining shinobi was caught in Sasuke's fire jutsu and slowly burned to death. His cries and screams of pain were horrible.

Maeno laughed wheezily as he plunged one of his swords into his leg to finally release Kakashi's genjutsu. "You think that would keep me under?"

His icy eyes widened as Kakashi leapt into action. With two hits, the swords had fallen to the ground. With two more swipes, Maeno was bleeding precariously from his abdomen and thigh. "And the bingo books labeled you as dangerous," Kakashi taunted cooly, raising his kunai to finally kill Maeno.

"Orochimaru-sama commanded that I take his precious little Sasuke-kun to him, forcefully," Maeno said hurriedly, obviously trying to buy time, "I was to invade Iwate, wait for Konoha to send their precious little Team 7 to take me out, then alert Orochimaru when the brat was taken by Kabuto. I guess that bastard failed on purpose. It doesn't matter now... now it's my turn. Orochimaru wants the last Uchiha as his young protege, to teach him all he knows. And I'll be the one rewarded for delivering him."

Sasuke snarled. "I want nothing to do with him!"

"Then you are a fool, Uchiha Sasuke. A _fool_."

Almost too fast for Sakura to see, Sasuke threw his shuriken. Before Maeno knew it, a three-foot blade buried itself deep inside his chest.

Sakura watched triumphantly as Maeno Montaro fell to the floor, though she didn't whoop for joy like Naruto did or sigh in relief like Sasuke did. Like Neji, she merely watched, silent and grave. Kakashi heaved a sigh and turned the body over, kneeling down beside the corpse to check its pulse. "Dead," he pronounced, straightening up and stepping away from Maeno with a scowl visible on his face even under his mask.

Her joy, however, was short lived. Mere moments after Maeno fell, dead, Shikamaru lost his footing and stumbled to his knees, a curious dark red stain coloring his back. "Shikamaru!" Sakura cried, momentarily forgetting her exhaustion as her body raced over towards her friend before she was aware she was moving, "Shikamaru, hang on!" Her hands were already wet with blood; the wound was deep. "Oh Kami!"

The Nara genius was already unconscious.

"_Shikamaru!"_

-

**-I've found the perfect theme song for this story: 'No Estaba Acostumbrado' by Don Tetto. It's not Japanese, but it **_**sounds**_** like one of the Naruto openings. And besides, I love it (even though I don't know what it means D:) You can find it on Youtube!**

**-I drew a picture for the last chapter: you can find it at my deviant art account posted below: This is the scene where Sasuke bids Sakura farewell...-insert dramatic sigh-**

**jackielupin./art/Be-Safe-95385000**

**-Also, I don't know if Kabuto's Chakra Absorption Jutsu causes temporary paralysis. For this story's purposes, it does. :D**

**-The next chapter, if all goes according to plan, will be the last, but there WILL be an epilogue, so I guess that means there are 2 chapters left until the end. Exciting, isn't it?**

**Love, Jackie**


	10. Chapter 9

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, romance, swearing, and battle scenes.

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY**: See previous chapters. :D

-

**CHAPTER NINE**

-

"Shikamaru!"

"Is he going to be-"

"What's wrong with him?!"

"Kami, how did this-"

"...shut up, dobe! You're not helping-"

"Nara, wake up!"

"We have...healers at the Hospital..."

"...needs medical attention..."

"Sakura...not enough chakra... rest..."

"I'll do it... she'll sleep..."

"..."

"Sasuke..."

-

It had been forty nine hours since Maeno Montaro was killed and all the mercenary shinobi from Sound working under him had fled. Forty five hours since Team 7 and the jounin squad were moved into the Iwate Hospital near the Eastern Gate by Igarashi-san and his people.

It had been forty three hours since Sakura had awoken from the sleeping jutsu Kakashi placed upon her frantic form earlier. She had instantly scrambled to Shikamaru's side despite the opposition of a very stubborn Naruto.

It had been forty one hours since she quelled the internal bleeding in his lungs.

It had been forty hours since she had completely spent her chakra attempting to heal the damage done to his back and inner organs.

It had been thirty hours since she had woken up to find herself back in her own bedroll with Sasuke asleep beside her in a chair. Touched though she had been, Shikamaru's body was still in danger of failing.

It had been twenty six hours since all the muscle covering Shikamaru's back had been knitted together, both from Sakura's medical chakra and the natural processes of healing.

It had been twenty hours since Shikamaru woke briefly to grin at Naruto, Kiba, Neji, Lee and Sakura as they smiled down at him in relief.

And ten hours later in the late afternoon, Sakura quietly entered the quiet hospital room that housed Shikamaru. Due to the delicate nature of his wounds and the severity of his condition, Shikamaru had been granted a private hospital room to allow him to recuperate in peace. The window was open and a cool breeze filtered in, carrying along the faint sound of birdsong in the waning hours of the day. Sakura inhaled deeply, glad that the stale, biting smell of hospital had not infiltrated this room.

Glancing down at the occupant of the bed, she was happy to see that he was resting quietly. Shikamaru no longer resembled the ghost he had when Igarashi found them and brought them to the Iwate hospital; his usual peachy color had returned to his skin. Sakura opened his chart that she had procured from one of the nurses and read through the information one last time before snapping it shut. The wound to his back, though dangerously close to his spinal cord, had missed by inches. It appeared as if he had been run through with a katana, but wracking her brain for exactly when that had happened proved fruitless. No one else remembered how he got the wound either.

Sakura sat down on the bed gently, not wanting to wake him. She gathered chakra in her hand and touched Shikamaru's shoulder; her chakra gently traveled into his body towards his back. The damage had been extensive; though the blade went in smoothly, it had been ripped out haphazardly. The new muscle and tissue that Sakura had been forced to regenerate for Shikamaru's body was still growing and expanding. The Nara genius would be forced to train only lightly or risk destroying the muscles in his back.

At the moment though, Shikamaru appeared perfectly healthy. Now all he needed was time to recuperate and regain enough strength to make the journey home to Konoha.

Covering a yawn, Sakura brushed past the medic who appeared in the doorway to assess Shikamaru's condition and nodded. "He's fine," she whispered tiredly, her mind set on finding her way through the corridors to the spare apartment in the hospital that had been granted for Team 7 and Shikamaru's team. Usually utilized for families with a loved one in the hospital, the apartment suite now served Sakura and six rowdy shinobi.

The moment she opened the door she almost wished she hadn't. Lee, Kiba and Neji were squeezed together on the couch with Akamaru sprawled across their laps; Neji in particular looked thunderous as Lee yelled at the movie playing on the tiny TV. The volume was up so high that it was a wonder none of the medics had come around to tell them off!

Wondering what her own team was up to, Sakura glanced towards the kitchen. There was Naruto, wrestling with a box of instant ramen. Suppressing a snort, she looked around for Sasuke. The Uchiha was nowhere in sight. Sakura felt disappointment flood her. _Don't be stupid, Sakura_, she told herself quickly, _Just because he isn't here doesn't mean he is avoiding you. _Still, she couldn't help but feel her spirits drop a little. She had been hoping, now that Maeno was dead and Shikamaru was going to be okay, that they would have time to talk, just one on one. But it didn't look like an opportunity was going to present itself soon.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called to her over the TV, taking his eyes off of the cooking ramen to see her entrance, "Want some ramen?!"

"No, thanks," she laughed, leaning up against the counter to watch him attempt to cook his dinner, "Where is Kakashi and Sasuke?"

"Groceries. And the teme said he needed fresh air, so he went to help."

"Ah."

There was silence for a few moments, broken only by the obnoxious noises Lee was making from the living room and the bubbling of the boiling water.

"I can't believe it's over already," Naruto said, looking over at her, "The mission. I mean, I thought Maeno would be... well, tougher."

Sakura frowned but nodded. "Yeah, you're right... It doesn't feel like it's over. The mission doesn't feel... finished. I mean, we returned Iwate to Igarashi-san, Kabuto and Maeno are both dead... It ended so quickly. Not that I'm complaining, I'm glad it's over."

Naruto laughed and slung his arm around her. "Me too. Kami I miss Konoha! It's too hot here! Besides, I'm itching to get back into a regular training schedule for the tournament next week! Kiba says the first round is on Tuesday, the second on Wednesday and the third on Friday. Do you think Tsunade-baa-chan will let you off your hospital shifts to join this time?"

"Hopefully," she answered, grinning, "I want to beat Ino-pig." Sakura had been so disappointed when a volunteer to cover her shift at the hospital had failed to appear. While the majority of the shinobi population participated in the tournament, Sakura was stuck in the hospital on a particular boring night to stare out the window and mope.

"What the hell is he doing?" Lee yelled from the other room.

"Shut up!" they heard Neji berate his teammate.

"Hey!" Kiba protested as something fell to the floor and shattered with a _crash_.

The sounds of scuffling were heard, then a loud thump amidst Akamaru's loud barks of indignation; Neji must have shoved the large dog off of his legs to properly strangle Lee. Kiba too must have joined the fray, due to the loud cursing and the sheer number of muted smacks and kicks. Someone was even thrown into a wall, judging from the loud smash against the wall that surprised Naruto, who jumped about a foot in the air.

Giggling, Sakura turned back to Naruto. "Three deadly shinobi locked in the living room with a tiny TV; what could be worse?"

But then the ramen pot began to overflow and spew scalding hot water everywhere.

_I just had to open my mouth._

-

As Sakura slowly regained consciousness the next morning -four days after Iwate had been freed- she calculated that she had slept for almost twelve hours after a quick glance at the clock in the corner of the room. The apartment was quiet; her friends must not be inside, or there would most likely be another tussle. Kakashi must have taken them out into Iwate for some fresh air. Even the smell of instant ramen saturating the air from the kitchen on the other side of the wall was surprisingly absent.

Blinking blearily, she disentangled her arms from her blankets and stretched gingerly. Her ribs were completely healed but still rather tender when she moved, though the tenderness would go away within another couple of days. Glancing around the room, she was surprised to see that Sasuke was asleep in the chair again. His hands were folded in his lap, his head tilted to the side as he slept, oblivious to her scrutiny. There were circles underneath his eyes and he looked rather pale. Concerned, Sakura pulled herself to her feet and padded over to him gingerly. Despite the amount of rest she had gotten, her body still was exhausted. Her mind, however, was not.

Kneeling down in front of Sasuke quietly, Sakura leaned up and brushed the dark hair away from his face. Carefully, she touched his cheek and inspected his face first for any injuries, then the rest of his body. In her haste to save Shikamaru, she had neglected her other teammates. Apart from a nasty looking cut on his arm that had been bandaged well, he appeared fine, if not as exhausted as she was.

She gazed at his face for long moments, finding it hard to believe that he had ever kissed her. If felt like a dream anyway but for her fervent hope that it had actually happened... would Sasuke still feel the same today? Had it just been a 'spur of a moment' thing, the adrenaline rushing through his veins convincing him he wanted her? The emotions burning in his eyes, though... she wanted to believe them. She wanted to believe _him._ But it was so hard when all she'd had before was disappointment.

Feeling a gaze on hers, Sakura glanced up slightly. Sasuke was awake now, his eyes half open as they roved over her face. She snatched her hand away from his cheek hastily as if it had been burned, but he caught it as she recoiled. He covered it with his other hand and said quietly, "Don't."

Don't what? She gazed up at him in confusion, but Sasuke only sighed.

"I-I...I have to go check on Shikamaru," Sakura said weakly, trying to find an escape. She did _not_ have any intention of him catching her looking over him, not to mention touching him while he slept or even being so close to him! If anything, she wanted to test how much he wanted _her._ Not the other way around!

"Do you love him?"

_Nani?_ Sakura stared at Sasuke incredulously. "W-what?" she spluttered, utterly shocked by his question. "Do I _love_ Shikamaru?"

Sasuke watched her intently, his mouth drawn in a thin line. "Yes. Do you love him more than you love me?"

"How can you ask that?! Shikamaru-"

The dark-haired teenager got to his feet and walked a couple paces away from her before replying, "I understand... I wouldn't want me either."

She gaped openly as he slowly walked away from her towards the door. "You...You _baka!_" she called out angrily, scrambling to her feet and racing over to him to turn him around roughly. Anchoring his face with both hands, Sakura gazed into his obstinate dark eyes and said softly, "I love _you_, you idiot."

Sasuke stilled; emerald clashed with dark gray in a violent storm. Just as suddenly, his mouth was on hers, possessive and demanding. His lips moved over hers and caressed hers roughly, but Sakura didn't mind; she kissed him back just as fervently, standing up on her tip toes to fold her arms around his neck and press her body up against his. Large hands splayed across her back and held her even closer to him. She hazily realized that Sasuke was steering them backwards; he used one hand to grope for the door separating her room from the rest of the apartment and slammed it shut behind them.

With a sudden cry of surprise, Sakura found herself lifted up into Sasuke's arms as he carried her over to her bed and dumped her on it. The gleam in his dark eyes was utterly predatory as he crouched over her and feverishly captured her lips once more. His hands slid down her body and burrowed underneath her shirt to touch her bare stomach; the heat that suddenly pooled in her lower abdomen made her moan softly. "Sasuke..."

Desperate to feel his skin on hers, Sakura broke away from Sasuke's mind-numbing kiss to tug at his shirt, lifting the hem up and attempting to drag it over his shoulders. With a chuckle, he sat up slightly and helped her pull it off. As soon as the offending piece of fabric was off Sasuke kissed her once more, trailing his lips from her cheek, to her chin, then down the side of her neck. Sakura squirmed in his arms, gasping. The sensation of his mouth on her skin was fantastic... She had never thought that a mere touch could light her body on fire...

But then it hit her, just as Sasuke was pulling up her shirt to expose her toned abdomen to kiss his way down it. This was... they couldn't, not right now! Not like this! Panic settled in now, a cold, uncomfortable feeling that drove away the building heat in seconds flat. Sakura hastily pushed Sasuke off of her. "Oh Kami," she whispered, her cheeks flaming in embarrassment.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, concerned. He touched her cheek gently, looking into her face.

Sakura stared up at him. "W-We got a little carried away," she joked, managing a weak smile.

The Uchiha sighed and leaned his forehead up against hers. "Yeah," he said back, his breathing faster than normal, "Yeah, we did."

"I-It's not like I didn't want to," she rambled on anxiously, "It's just that we're in a hospital, the door isn't locked, and any minute now one of our teammates is probably going to try and find us. And I want my first time to be, I don't know, special? Because I care about you a lot but we're in a hospital and on a mission and-"

Sasuke laughed softly and kissed her lips to quiet her. "You talk too much, Sakura."

Relief washed over her in warm, welcoming waves. He wasn't angry or disappointed with her. She wrapped her arms around his bare waist as he settled them up against the headboard, both content merely to close their eyes and rest. Sakura yawned and willed her body to relax; her nerves still hummed as if she had just been in a spar.

Now at least no one would walk in on anything embarrassing. Even if the other shinobi did find them, now they weren't doing anything...naughty.

A noise in the apartment caused her eyes to snap open.

She just _had_ to think it!

Sudden footsteps nearing the door had Sasuke scrambling for his shirt and Sakura ducking underneath the blanket to feign sleep, her eyes cracked open slightly to see. Sasuke had just tugged his shirt over his head and sat down in the chair when the door opened and there stood none other than Kakashi, clothed not in his usual shinobi gear but a dark green yukata and slacks. His mask, much to Sakura's annoyance and amusement, was still firmly in place over the lower half of his face.

_Shit._

"Give it up, Sakura!" her old teacher called out, "I know you're awake."

Guiltily, Sakura opened her eyes and sat up to smile sheepishly at the jounin. "Heh heh... hey Kakashi!" Her sudden movements caused her pack to tumble to the floor, spilling all of its contents. And most embarrassingly for Sakura, the offending Icha Icha book flipped out in plain view for all of them to see.

"Hmm..." Kakashi teased, "Well, I guess I know what you two were up to in here." He walked over to the middle of the floor and picked up his precious book, stowing it away in one of his pockets. "Looks like you two won't be needing this anymore!"

"But-"

"We weren't-"

Kakashi glanced at them and their half-hearted attempts at protesting, his lone eyebrow quirked. "Just wanted to let you know, anyway, that Naruto ordered takeout since he is sick of hospital food. We'll have to eat it in the restaurant, but that beats what we've been eating. We leave in five minutes." With that, he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, whistling lightly.

Sakura stared after him for long moments after he left, in a state of shock and confusion. Then she hurriedly hopped out of bed and ran to her pack, taking out her shirt and pants. She was just about to lift her pajama shirt when she belatedly realized Sasuke was still in the room.

The Uchiha was still sitting down in the chair, looking at her in amusement. "Icha Icha, huh?" he asked huskily, causing Sakura to blush heavily.

"Sasuke!" she protested in mortification.

Sasuke got to his feet and stalked over to her, where he took the clean shirt out of her hand and threw it on the bed. "You're taking too long," he whispered against her ear, tugging at the hem of her shirt and lifting it up over her head. Sakura merely stood there, shivering, clad only in a sports bra. Without hesitation, Sasuke -while keeping his eyes fixed on her face- took her clean white shirt and slid it on. "There."

While she slipped on her clean dark jeans, Sasuke left the room briefly to grab his own clothing from the room he shared with Naruto. He strode back into the room, stretching. Although he was dressed in simple tan sacks and a blue shirt, the utter shock of seeing the Uchiha in civilian clothing made Sakura's mouth fall open. Even on days off he wore his shinobi gear!

Sasuke looked at her open mouth questioningly. "What?" he asked, glancing around the room for his jacket.

"Er...nothing," she answered, picking up his jacket that was lying on the chair and throwing it at him.

"You coming?" Sasuke asked her when she hesitated. He shrugged on his jacket, then held out his hand to her. With a smile, she took his offered hand. He curled his fingers around her smaller hand as they left her room and headed out into the apartment. Sakura was even more surprised when he kept his grip on hers; she had assumed that he would not tolerate any sign of possession from her, but then she realized what it was. _He_ was staking his claim_._ Uchiha Sasuke was showing that Haruno Sakura was _his._ Butterflies suddenly swarmed in her stomach.

They left the apartment silently, trailing after the faint echoes of Naruto's laughter and Akamaru's barks. When they reached the stairs leading to the first floor, they found the rest of their teammates. Lee was already halfway out of the front door when he realized that everyone had stopped. He came inside with a frown on his face, and said, "What's going on?"

Then Sakura caught sight of a rather pale but smiling Shikamaru standing in the lobby, arms crossed over his chest. "Shikamaru!" she breathed to Sasuke, "He shouldn't be out of bed just yet!"

Kakashi seemed to agree; his mouth opened slightly as though he was about to protest, but then he closed it and merely smiled. "Good to see you up and about, Shikamaru."

"Thanks, Kakashi-sempai," Shikamaru said lazily, waving one hand in greeting to the rest of them, "Good to be up."

-

The restaurant that Kakashi had taken them out to was surprisingly very nice. Although it didn't have any ramen - something Naruto groaned about for the entire evening - they ate their noodles and rice gratefully. The hospital food had really been pretty terrible, and Sakura herself had been feeling rather famished from the option of soggy salad or Naruto's equally disgusting instant ramen.

Shikamaru was joking with the best of them; it was evident he was feeling much better. Sakura was so thrilled that her friend was alive that she relaxed completely in the company's presence for the first time since the mission began. This was what life was supposed to be like, surrounded by family and friends. Her sudden ecstatic mood was contagious; Naruto was laughing uproariously with Kiba and Lee over a joke Kiba had repeated, and even Sasuke was grinning lightly at it. On the other side of Sasuke was Kakashi, who was, like always, reading his Icha Icha, but every now and then he would join in on the conversation. Neji sat next to her quietly, though he was smiling as he too looked around at their companions.

Again, Sakura was hit by a sudden wave of homesickness. She wished they were back in Konoha... and she didn't really want to cross the desert again. Back in Konoha, Ino would be here with Chouji in tow; TenTen and Hinata would come with Shino, and all the old jounin sensei -Asuma, Gai, Kurenai- would come as well. Even Yamato-taichou and Sai would come. The last time the sixteen shinobi had been at the barbecue restaurant in Konoha all at once had been just short of disastrous. Gai had lost a three-legged race miserably to Kakashi, Kiba and Sasuke ended up fighting over something silly, Ino had all but seduced Sai, Hinata tried flirting with Naruto, TenTen had hit Lee over the head five times, Kurenai and Asuma began making out, and Yamato had finally asked the owner to turn off the lights so he could do his 'scary flashlight face.' That calmed everyone down only momentarily.

After the owner asked them all to leave, Naruto had the idea to invite everyone over to the Uchiha compound. Sasuke, to this day, still was unaware that it was his blond teammate that had been responsible for the all night blowout and the empty sake bottles left around the compound the following morning.

Glancing over at the dark haired Uchiha with a knowing smile, Sakura decided that she would take that particular secret to the grave.

-

"Unghhh... what?"

"Sakura-chan, wake up!" The shaking of her shoulder halted momentarily. Sakura blearily wondered if Naruto knew that if he shook her one more time it would mean a black eye. He seemed to understand the killing aura that suddenly enveloped her, for he laughed sheepishly.

Opening her eyes, Sakura blinked in surprise; gone was the track jacket and shinobi pants. Instead, Naruto looked... grown up. He was wearing a formal dark green yukata with orange piping lining the expensive looking fabric. "What...what are you wearing?" she asked as he plopped himself down on her bed, reminding her that he wasn't as grown up as he looked.

"Igarashi-san gave it to me. Apparently there is a banquet tonight that we are invited to. Kaka-sensei told me to come wake you up; you get to pick yours out!"

Sakura felt her brain overload with all of the information Naruto was spouting into her ear. "Wait, a banquet? And what do I have to pick out?" She threw her legs over the side of the bed, shoved Naruto out of the way, and got to her feet with a loud yawn.

"Kaka-sensei said you need to go get a formal kimono," her teammate told her cheerfully, "Igarashi-san has a couple old kimono from his wife that would fit you that you can pick out. I guess the banquet is celebrating the successful coup and our presence here as Konoha shinobi. We 'need to be on our best behavior and represent Konoha well', or so Kakashi said."

"Ah," Sakura answered. She hated formal parties more than anything; kimono, while beautiful, were very heavy and nearly impossible to move around quickly in. Not to mention the hot and dry climate here would make it nearly unbearable. "Great."

-

Although choosing a nice kimono from Igarashi's vast collection had been rather easy - all the kimono were utterly _beautiful_ - Sakura found herself dreading the banquet. But the time to arrive came and went in a flash, and now here she was, standing in the middle of the entrance hall surrounded by people she didn't know dressed so elegantly that she was afraid to move or step on the trail of someone's expensive kimono.

Sakura was clad in a light golden colored kimono with a pale blue sash that tied around the middle and dragged down to the floor. The hem of her kimono was lined with dark blue waves and swirls of water that was so realistic that Sakura knew it must have taken the weaver who sewed it a great amount of time and sweat. Small phoenixes rose from the water in rose and burgundy swirls, while their feathers were trimmed in gold and red thread. Though her hair was tied up in a simple bun, Sakura felt beautiful in that kimono. _If only Sasuke was here to see me now,_ she thought, glancing around the room nervously.

Though Sasuke wasn't around, Shikamaru and Neji were, both looking rather uncomfortable by the sheer number of civilians pressed together in an enclosed space that was slowly becoming more and more stuffy. Catching Sakura's eye, the Nara quickly made his way over to her as the crowd passed through the archway to admire the great koi pond outside the hall.

"This is boring," he muttered to her, wincing slightly as he crossed his arms. He was dressed in a red kimono with a large, ornate dragon swirling around its mate on both sleeves. He had shed his jacket ages ago after complaining about the heat.

Neji just nodded in agreement, eyes following the civilians. The Hyuuga was looking formidable in a white haori and dark grey pants, something that actually turned out to be very similar to his normal shinobi garb. Unlike Naruto and Shikamaru, he appeared comfortable in the heavy clothing.

Sakura sighed. "Yeah... I hate not knowing everyone... We're the odd ones out."

"Naruto seems to be having fun," Shikamaru laughed, pointing over to the right. Sure enough, the blond was dancing to an imaginary beat with Kiba; it looked more like an attack sequence than a dance, but then again, did Naruto know anything but shinobi jutsu and taijutsu combinations? Akamaru, who had been allowed in after a threat to behave himself, ended up leaping on top of Naruto and knocking him over into Kakashi in the process. Kakashi's barely visible glare was enough to make Naruto apologize profusely. Lee, who had been routing for Kiba from the sidelines, yelled something into the air, but all they caught were the words "youthful" and "bonding."

Neji shook his head with a smirk. "And this is the shinobi my cousin loves."

Hinata-chan and Naruto? She grinned at him. "Funny how that works out, isn't it?"

Shikamaru looked at her askance. "Yeah, funny," he said dryly, "And you and the Uchiha too... funny how that works."

Her cheeks erupted into flames. "H-how did you-?" she stuttered, wondering how Shikamaru had picked up on it so quickly.

Neji grinned. "When Shikamaru was still unconscious, he stayed by your side while you slept. _Every night_. And...I may have tried to find you when we went to the restaurant last night and..."

_Oh Kami._

"_Nara_. _Hyuuga_. I'm kicking both your asses when we're out of here.!"

That was their cue to leave. Sakura felt like there was steam coming out of her ears; she was downright _furious_!

-

After about an hour - in which Naruto ended up challenging Lee to race ten laps around the building with Kiba as the referee - Sakura glanced around the crowded great hall, craning her neck for a glimpse of Sasuke. However, due to the sheer number of people walking in and out of the banquet hall and the gardens, spotting him would be pretty close to impossible. Seeing short, spiky black hair, she rushed over to the man and was about to tap him on the shoulder when she realized that while this man was wearing the same color kimono as Sasuke was, he was too short to be the elusive Uchiha.

She sighed in frustration. Was Sasuke avoiding her or something? _Kami, let it be anything but _that, she thought dryly, brushing her pink bangs out of her face.

Then it hit her. "I know where he is." The one place that every shinobi - or any person wishing for some peace and quiet - knew of to get away from the big parties if need be. _Outside. _In Konoha, they would escape to the rooftops to gaze at the sky. Here, at Igarashi's home... in the gardens or near the koi pond. That was where he _had_ to be.

Quietly Sakura set off, lifting up the long hem of her blue silk kimono to keep it from dragging on the floor. She weaved in and out of the happy, content and most likely slightly drunk lords and their ladies and exited through the arched doorway, where a lovely garden and a clear, starry night awaited her. Letting her chakra gently uncoil and circulate through her body as it naturally did, Sakura was able to sense Sasuke's own chakra, not too far from where she stood in the cool night.

He was sitting on one of the wooden walkways where the garden ended and the water began, his bare feet dangling into the water, facing away from her and gazing out over the placid surface of the pond, but almost as soon as she sensed his chakra signature, he glanced over his shoulder at her as if to ascertain who it was that was intruding on his privacy, then faced the pond again.

Sakura approached him softly, her eyes following his line of gaze towards the moonlit water. "It's beautiful," she murmured quietly, not at all surprised when he didn't answer her. When she was feet away, she slid her own shoes off and then awkwardly sat down beside him, folding up the long robe of her kimono under her legs to dip her feet in the water. She let out a sigh of contentment as the cool water rushed over her feet.

Silence stretched between them, but it was not awkward at all. Sasuke seemed content to merely sit and enjoy the comfort the night offered, and Sakura was content to gaze out across the pond, watching as the koi fish that swam in it gently stirred the water. Ripples floated away in soft rings from where the tips of her toes lapped at the water and travelled outwards, growing fainter and fainter until they finally disappeared from view. But what Sakura liked most of all was the feeling of Sasuke's presence next to her, the way that when he shifted his shoulder would lightly brush hers. Or the fact that the Uchiha had finally allowed her into his company.

It took a couple more minutes for Sakura to think of something to say to him. It took her another couple of minutes to debate whether or not to break the comfortable silence. But Sasuke must have sensed her sudden hesitance, for he turned to look at her, a frown fixed on his face. Sakura glanced up at him and smiled, rubbing and twisting her hands together.

"Are you cold?" he asked quietly, his eyes meeting hers.

"N-No," she stuttered, "I'm okay-"

"Sakura, don't be stupid," he said, snaking one arm around her and pulling her flush up against him. He settled her close to him and gently leaned his head against hers, then returned to watching the night progress through the sky.

She blushed as her body relaxed in his grip. The warmth of his body seeped through his clothing into her own, and she snuggled closer to the welcomed contact. The lull of the water and Sasuke's rhythmic breathing made for a very pleasant and cozy atmosphere indeed out on the docks leading to the large koi pond, and Sakura soon found her eyes closing involuntarily.

Just when she was about to drift off, she felt warm lips brush across her forehead. "Wake up," an amused voice rumbled quietly.

"I wasn't sleeping," Sakura murmured in protest, "I was just resting my eyes."

"Hn." A warm hand gently smoothed her pink bangs away from her forehead, then began to trace the locks that had come undone from the bun she had put it in earlier. "I'm sorry," she heard him whisper in her half-awake state.

"For what?"

She opened his eyes to see Sasuke manage a small smile. "For taking so long to tell you how much I care about you. I thought...I thought that if I ignored you and what I felt whenever I was around you... that wanting you would just go away. That's why... that's why I was so hard on you when we trained... I wanted to push you away." His grip tightened on her. "But it didn't work. It took almost losing you to make me realize that I care about you."

Sakura smiled through her tears. "I've waited so long to hear that," she said happily. It was the only thing she could think to say to his confession.

Sasuke leaned down to kiss her, his eyes locked on hers as he descended. Sakura tilted her face to meet his, her eyes closing. His lips were mere millimeters away from hers when a large splash and cold water splattered all over them interrupted it. Gasping and spluttering in shock and anger, Sakura brushed her now soaked hair out of her face and glared at the offender.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke shouted angrily, jumping up to his feet and slinging off the outer coat of his kimono. He threw the offending, wet piece of fabric to the dock and jumped in the water on top of a very surprised blond shinobi.

Sakura shrieked as another wave of water splashed over her. "You bakas!" she called out breathlessly, but then she started laughing as Sasuke grabbed Naruto and shoved him underneath the water. "At least let him breathe, Sasuke!"

The Uchiha looked at her, smirked, then allowed Naruto to surface, choking on water as he inhaled deeply. "Geez," Naruto panted, swimming over to the dock and pulling himself out of the pond, "What was that for, teme?!"

"For getting Sakura wet."

Naruto looked sheepish as he gazed down at her and her soaked silk kimono. "Gomen, Sakura-chan," he apologized, though he couldn't hide the slight grin as he added, "Well, someone has to act like a chaperone around here when you two sneak off to-"

Sakura laughed as Naruto was suddenly hit in the side of the head with a large chunk of mud. Sasuke stood in the shallows of the pond, looking at him rather innocently seeing as his right fist was covered in the same grimy substance as was Naruto's cheek. "What?" the Uchiha asked, grinning, "You can't say he didn't deserve it!"

"No," she giggled, watching as Naruto got to his feet and jumped into the pond, advancing towards Sasuke at an alarming rate, "But if any mud hits _me_, you two are dead!"

A sudden presence made all three of them stop in their tracks and turn around to see who it was. There stood their sensei, his arms crossed over his chest casually, a rather amused gleam detected in his lone eye. "Yo," Kakashi greeted, raising one hand, "You three sure are making a racket out here."

Naruto laughed. "Sasuke started it!"

"Did not! That was _you, _dobe!"

Kakashi looked down at Sakura questioningly. She merely smiled up at the older jounin. "You don't want to know."

"Fair enough. C'mon you two, get out of the pond. You're scaring Igarashi-san's koi fish."

They clambered out of the pond and stood on the simple wooden dock beside Sakura and Kakashi, shivering in their soaked kimonos. Without a word, Kakashi turned around and grabbed towels for each of them from the ground; he must have brought them with him when he arrived. Sakura gratefully took hers and draped it around her shoulders, holding it close to her body. Sasuke and Naruto too wrapped their towels around themselves and stood, teeth chattering and wet clothes dripping onto the dock.

Sasuke sat down on her left just as Naruto grinned at Kakashi before settling himself down on her right. The four of them then gazed out at the twinkling night sky and couldn't help but feel as relaxed and as tranquil as the calming waters of the pond. The night was truly beautiful, but what Sakura would remember the most fondly out of this night would be the comfort in which they gave and took from each other's company.

Kakashi smiled down at his students. "Time to go home."

-

**So there you go! The mission is now completed! Hope you enjoyed it! This is **_**officially**_** the last chapter, but seeing as I AM posting an epilogue... not quite the end.**

**Please, review! The epilogue will be out shortly!**

**-Jackie**


	11. Epilogue

**Title:** The Mission From Hell

**Author:** JackieLupin

**Disclaimer:** Kishimoto-sama owns all!

**Rating:** Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes.

-**EPILOGUE-**

-

Three Months and a couple uneventful B-rank missions later...

-

Sakura awoke suddenly one night, sweaty, twisted and entangled both in the blankets and in Sasuke's grip. Blearily, she blinked and glanced around the room, confused as to what caused her to jerk awake. Her keen eyes told her that nothing was out of place; the books were still stacked neatly on the shelf, the door to the bathroom was still slightly ajar, and the picture frames on the dresser were undisturbed. What had woken her up?

Then the knocking at the door resumed again, this time stirring Sasuke. He yawned, unconcerned, then glanced over at her. "What is it?" he murmured sleepily, tightening his hold on her and nuzzling his head back into his pillow.

"Someone's at the door," Sakura replied, shrugging off his hold around her waist to throw on a bathrobe over her pajamas. She quietly padded down the long, ornate staircase and crossed the vast, empty entrance hall of the old Uchiha Compound to open the door.

At the door stood Naruto, who was grinning from ear to ear.

Sakura scowled at him, then wordlessly pointed at the clock that hung in the foyer.

Her blond teammate looked over, then blanched slightly and smiled at her sheepishly. "Sorry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, but he didn't seem very sorry. Instead, he looked almost unbearably excited over something, and at any other time of day Sakura would have pressed him for the details, but right now, at 1:37 in the morning, Sakura found it hard to care.

"What is it?" the pink-haired woman bit out in exasperation, closing her robe tighter around her body to keep out the cold air as she stepped aside to allow Naruto inside the Uchiha mansion.

Naruto suddenly hugged her tightly, nearly knocking the air from her lungs. "Hinata-chan and I are together!" he cried happily, "And I wanted you and Sasuke-teme to be the first to know! Speaking of which, where is that lazy bastard?"

Sakura smiled and hugged her teammate back. "That's great, Naruto!" she said halfheartedly, still slightly annoyed at the ramen-loving shinobi for interrupting her sleep at 1:37 in the morning, "But you could have told Sasuke and I at training tomorrow." Naruto released her and chuckled, one hand rising up to scratch the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess I forgot about it. I just wanted you to be the first to know, Sakura-chan."

She smiled, touched. "Aww, you've grown up too much, Naruto! Just make sure you treat Hinata just as well as you do ramen!"

Naruto mock saluted her and stepped outside, blue eyes twinkling. "Yeah, yeah. G'night, Sakura-chan! And tell Sasuke-teme I'll be waiting to kick his ass first thing tomorrow! Neji and Shikamaru will be there to witness it! Make sure you tell him that!"

She rolled her eyes at his antics. "Sure, Naruto!" she waved, then closed the door and leaned against it tiredly, rubbing her eyes. That baka Naruto... but she was happy for him and Hinata, really. About time, too! After all, the Hyuuga heir had loved him for years upon years, and Naruto had been all but oblivious.

"Sakura?" she heard Sasuke demand loudly from the other side of the house, "What is it?"

"Naruto wants to kick your ass," Sakura called as she retraced her steps back to the bedroom at the other side of the Uchiha Compound.

"Hn. That's nothing new," the Uchiha remarked when she reached the doorway.

"He finally got together with Hinata."

"Not for long. The Hyuuga will kill him."

"Not Neji. Neji already gave his blessing." Sakura lifted back the covers and sleepily crawled into bed at Sasuke's side, throwing off her robe as she did so. With a soft, sleepy sigh, she drew the blankets over her body, snuggled deeper into the bed and closed her eyes.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked her quietly a moment later, his face inches from hers.

"Yeah?" she yawned, reaching out of her warm cocoon to rub her eye lazily. She cracked one eye open to look up at him.

"Thank you." His dark grey eyes were sincere as he gazed at her. Hesitantly, a calloused hand reached out to brush away a stray lock of pink hair from her forehead.

"For what?"

"Everything. Caring about me, even when I made it hard to." His hand brushed over her skin to rest near her collarbone comfortably.

She snorted. "Hell yes you did. You were so hot and cold! One minute you were pushing me away, the next we actually had a real conversation! What was I supposed to think!"

Sasuke glared at her, but because he tightened his grip on her, Sakura knew he wasn't truly angry at her. "I was confused. I didn't know what I was supposed to think of you. One minute you would act like you did when we were genin, and the next time I saw you, you ignored me and flirted with _Neji_!"

"I did _not_!" Before Sasuke could respond, Sakura quickly pressed her lips against his. He made no move to kiss her back for a few moments, but then finally moved his lips against hers gently. "I love you, you idiot," she reminded him when they broke apart for air, "How many times do I have to say that to you?"

Sasuke huffed. "As much as I want you to." He nuzzled his face into her shoulder gently. His every breath of warm air hitting her sensitive skin caused her to shiver slightly.

"Okay," she agreed sleepily, too tired to argue. Sakura made a mental note to debate the subject in the morning during training.

"Hn."

If someone had told her months ago on that fateful summer day when they received the mission scroll from Tsunade-sama that eventually Sasuke would invite not only her into his private life, but include Naruto and Kakashi, she probably would have laughed. And if someone had hinted that Sasuke would finally accept and return her love, Sakura probably would have hit them on the head and cursed them into next week for messing around with her.

Life had settled into a normal routine. Team 7 would eat breakfast at Naruto's apartment, seeing as Sakura had long since sold hers and the Uchiha compound was too far away from the training grounds. Training occurred every morning, and afterwards Sakura took her shifts at the hospital while Naruto and Sasuke terrorized the rest of Konoha. Of course, them always managing to land themselves in the hospital once a week when they took training a bit too far left them with a big black mark in Tsunade-sama's book; they had been assigned missions B-rank and lower as punishment, something Sakura and Kakashi didn't altogether appreciate. But their team was finally complete.

The only blight on Sakura's sunny horizon was that Itachi was still alive, but she knew that when the time came, they would handle him together. Afterall, Team 7 had fully become a family. Orochimaru was free to come up with however many plans he wanted to to ensnare Sasuke, but here in Konoha was where the last Uchiha truly belonged. Only now did he seem to believe it.

Sakura had no idea what tomorrow would bring, but as she gazed down at her dark-haired teammate as he slept quietly in her arms, she found she really didn't care all that much. Tomorrow always would come no matter what, and they would make the best of every day they were given.

For they were all together at last, Team 7. Friends, brothers and comrades. And they were ready to take on the world together.

-

_Weekends are for the warriors _

_All those late nights walking through front doors at daybreak _

_Raise all of the glasses high _

_This one's to all of us sitting around here on Friday night_

_ I remember eighteen _

_Hated Mondays _

_And sitting and staring at the clock dying to get away_

_Don't look back _

_And have no regrets _

_We only got two days and time won't wait for us  _

_I could't ask for a better place to be  _

_This can't last forever _

_Raise a glass together _

_Doesn't get much better _

_No better than _

_This can't last forever _

_Raise a glass together _

_Doesn't get much better _

_No better than this  _

_I've been to hell and back _

_All the snow storms _

_And the bathroom stalls which you pulled me out of _

_I'll be there _

_Like you've been there _

_My word's my bond _

_Don't stand alone, you can count on me  _

_I couldn't ask for a better place to be  _

_We fight this fight to stay free _

_And never say 'never' _

_If you leave this choice up to me I'll stay young (stay young) forever  _

_This can't last forever _

_Raise a glass together _

_Doesn't get much better _

_No better than _

_This can't last forever _

_Raise a glass together _

_Doesn't get much better _

_No better than this  _

_Weekends are for the warriors_

-

**THE END!**

**For now. :D**

**I just want to take a moment to thank all of you that have stuck with me and "The Mission From Hell" from the beginning, middle, end and all! This has been a great accomplishment of mine, since this is the FIRST full-length story I have EVER finished, and I have to say, despite the tears, headaches, late nights and writers block, the experience has been FANTASTIC! Your reviews have made everything seem worth it, and while I'm glad you enjoyed this story, I wrote it for myself to prove that I could do it. So HURRAH!**

**Okay, on to the next project. I think it might be a Neji-Saku! Just a feeling... oh, and the little plot-bunny sitting on my shoulder demands it. Or a possible continuation of this story... So be on the lookout for it! If you have any plot ideas that you might like to see incorporated, just let me know. I plan to make another full-length story!**

**-Love, Jackie**


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